


Koda's Adventures

by Wanderer44



Category: Original Work
Genre: ABDL, Adoption, Age Play, Asexual Character, Bed-Wetting, Bedtime Stories, Bisexual Male Character, Caretaking, Daycare, Diapers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Fluff, Gay, Gay Couple, Home, Infantilism, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Other, Pacifiers, Pansexual Character, Self-Discovery, Teacher-Student Relationship, bottle, littlespace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:48:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 61,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28634997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wanderer44/pseuds/Wanderer44
Summary: Connor and Pearce are a hard working, loving couple, but something is missing from their idealistic life. Connor has wanted to adopt an ABDL boy for quite a while, but isn't sure how his husband feels about the whole idea. Soon though, neither of them could have imagined the happiness and love that was to follow...
Relationships: Daddy/Daddy/Little, Original Male Character/Original Male Character, daddy/little
Comments: 10
Kudos: 54





	1. A New Addition

The town of Winterville, was a diverse and accepting place, with it’s rich culture and plethora of things to do around town, it was the perfect place for families to settle down, especially families who were a little different. The bustling haven was situated on the outskirts of the countries main hub and was in perfect proximity to both Connor’s and Pearce’s work places, while still being quiet enough for their relaxed family life. They had chosen Winterville for many reasons, but mainly for the opportunities it offered for the other member of their family.

It all started 2 years earlier, a fortnight after Connor’s 30th birthday. He had woken up early that Sunday morning, in a mood that matched the dreary dark sky. The cheeriness that follows his birthday had worn off and while his husband softly snored beside him, there was an emptiness in his heart that he longed to be filled. They had had the baby discussion a few years earlier and both decided to wait until the time was right, but passing such a large life milestone, his need had outgrew the waiting stage. Laying awake, he stared at the ceiling with his mind turning as he planned how to bring up the issue to his partner.

When Pearce rolled over, he grumbled as he slowly returned to the land of the living. “Babe? Can I run something by you?” Connor said softly, unable to wait any longer. After their night out though, Pearce was feeling rather rough and cleared his dry scratchy throat loudly. “Gotta pee first.” He managed to mumble as he pulled his heavy head off the pillows. Dragging his feet, he stumbled into the bathroom, still half asleep. The sudden bright illumination of the automatic bathroom light, made the lethargic man flinch and curse at the unwelcome shine. Moments later he fell back into bed and discovered his lover had discreetly nipped off to the kitchen and brought him back a mug of strong java. “Uh oh, what’s up?” Pearce’s voice was hoarse from the late night, but he sat himself up knowing that the strong coffee meant Connor wanted a serious talk. “Did I embarrass myself last night?” He asked, beginning to worry he had overdone it.

“No, nothing like that.” Connor said quietly, staring into his own dark coffee. Letting out a sigh, he swept his golden hair back into it’s usual position and decided the best way forward was to just come right out with it and pour his heart to his lover. “… and I know we said we’d wait but, I feel like I need this in my life.”

“Alright then.” Pearce said nonchalantly, sipping his warm drink. He turned to Connor, seeing his stunned expression and lifted his hand, pressing a soft kiss. “If this is what you want, I’m on board.” He smiled, gazing into his caramel coloured eyes. Overcome with emotion, Connor rolled ontop of his husband almost sending his coffee flying. “Is this just your way of curbing my wild party lifestyle?” Pearce smirked.

“Babe, you had four drinks and you were ruined. I think your ‘party’ days are long gone.” Connor chuckled, poking his husband playfully in the belly.

After getting Pearce onboard, Connor wasted no time in beginning his search for their new ‘little’ boy. The world had moved on from their youth and the country was a more accepting place, with all types of people being welcomed with open arms. Connor had always wanted to care for his own ABDL boy. Years earlier he had read up on how they were once shunned and forced to hide and since learning of how they were treated, he had wanted to save one from the troubles they faced and show him how good life could be. But in the intelligent age, when the world learned that ABDL wasn’t a choice and that the individual was born that way, it became widely accepted and there were even places that catered specifically to nurture and support ABDL’s in all walks of life.

Connor had a couple of friends, when he was younger who were ABDL and even then had taken on a caretaker role when he was around them. It had nothing to do with his sexuality, he only had eyes for Pearce, it was merely an inbuilt natural instinct of his, the parental need to nurture, love and protect.

Things progressed incredibly quickly, but when Connor set his mind to something he didn’t waste a second and just under two weeks after their chat, he had sent off the official forms needed and set up a visit to an orphanage, a mere 13 miles from their home. “Have you got the erm.. Oh nevermind it’s here. Did you remember to get petrol? Erm… do we need to take er…” Connor was a bundle of nerves and when he got nervous he fell over his words.

Pearce took ahold of his shoulders and locked onto his flitting eyes. “Breathe in.” He began, knowing just how to help. “And let it out.” After the magic fourth time, Connor felt a wave of calm and smiled at Pearce, very grateful to have his husband by his side for going on six years. “Better?”

“Yeah.” Connor breathed a sigh of relaxation. “Good. Now relax, we’ll be fine. Just remember, they will be more nervous than you are.” Pearce said giving his man a cuddle. He elected to drive, giving Connor one less thing to fret about on the journey. Connor’s car, a four door Audi A5, was almost subconsciously perfect for a little boy already, it had ample room in the back for a car seat and a great safety rating for piece of mind.

They stood infront of the large unattractive, almost medical looking building with a look of mild shock on their faces. “Hard to believe this is a _home_ for anyone.” Pearce scowled up at the stains running down the brickwork from the leaking gutters and the large cracks in the ageing cladding.

“Well hopefully it won’t be any longer for one lucky boy.” Connor grinned, his nervous mood had shifted and made way for pure excitement. He had a skip in his step as he bounded up the stone stairs to the entrance. “Come on.” He chuckled, holding his hand out to Pearce who was still staring at the unkept building.

Inside was a slight improvement, but still not very homely. They were of course too polite to mention anything as they were shown around the different areas by one of the women in charge. Their tour, thankfully was brief as they were here to meet the residents and see if they could find someone to join their small family. Strangely, many of the ABDL’s were sitting spread out from each other and there didn’t seem to be any group activities in place. Of the dozen residents they met, there just didn’t seem that spark between them, on either side and Connor was beginning to feel disheartened.

While Connor was speaking one of the staff, Pearce had noticed a thin young man, with jet black hair that hung just over his eyes in the next room playing with a small tiger plush on a messy colouring table. Slowly heading over he pulled up one of the small blue chairs and sat across from the shy boy. “Hi there.” The much larger muscled man picked up a small crayon and started to draw on a plain piece of paper infront of him. “I’m Pearce. What’s your name?” But the timid young man was overcome with shyness and sat silently, holding his tiger close to his cheek. “I like your friend there.” Pearce noticed the boy lift his gaze and smile, if only for a moment.

As he continued with his picture, Pearce could feel the little one’s eyes upon him, trying to see what it was he was drawing. “My name’s Koda.” Came a very soft voice from across the table.

“Very nice to meet you Koda. Does your friend have a name?” Pearce was slowly gaining his confidence, when Connor appeared behind him. He stroked his man’s shoulders and quietly sat next to him. “Who’s this?” Connor asked softly, seeing the shyness radiating from Pearce’s new friend.

“This is Koda and his little friend Stripey.” Pearce gave Connor a knowing look and that was all he needed. If the boy had won over Pearce so quickly, Connor knew there was something special in him. They sat together for almost an hour and a half, slowly getting to know each other and while Koda was still very very shy, he had started replying a little to both Connor and Pearce. “This is for you.” Pearce smiled as he slid his crudely drawn colouring of Stripey over to Koda.

The little one raised his head and had the happiest smile Connor had ever seen. “Th-ankyou.” He stammered, holding the paper in his hands. It wasn’t the greatest drawing ever made, but to Koda it was the most perfect gift anyone had ever given him.

“How would you like if we treated you to lunch, little one?” The couple were getting hungry as time rolled on and Pearce made the decision to ask if their new friend would like to join them. “Yes p’ease!” Koda cheeped excitedly, making Connor chuckle. Pearce looked around to the woman in charge and she gave him an approving nod. Even though he had only just met these people, Koda was excited at the prospect of outside food, but first jumped up and sprinted to put his gift in the sanctuary of his tiny room.

They were handed a diaper bag and after Pearce had signed the necessary forms, they were allowed to head outside. The couple knew the area and both had a place in mind that was only a short walk away, it was quiet and served very tasty food. “Would you like to hold my hand Koda?” Connor asked, as the shy boy stared at his worn shoes. “Yes please.” He replied in a soft almost inaudible voice.

They had been warned by the staff, before they left, that Koda might not eat very much, but in the restaurant they saw the exact opposite. “You look like you’re enjoying that. Koda, can I ask you a question?” Pearce asked with a smile, handing some of his fries to the peckish boy. Now making eye contact, the couple could see his cute face as he nodded to his new friends. He had dark soulful eyes and a cluster of freckles high on each fair cheek. “Do you get much to eat normally?”

Now out of the orphanage’s view, he had relaxed a lot more and even smiled at the pair. “Not really… it’s yucky.” He confessed. The pair shared another knowing look, as they had done quite a few times since meeting Koda. It was clear as day that he was not doing well in his, for lack of a better word, ‘home’. Not only was he not eating enough, he wasn’t interacting socially very well and from the looks of his attire, was stuck in old hand me down clothes. By the time their plates were empty, the couple had made a decision.

“Alrighty, before we head back, do you need a diaper change?” Connor asked quietly, so as not to embarrass their cute companion. Holding Stripey up to his face, Koda slowly nodded. Connor gave him a wink and both men stood, holding their hands out to him. The three made their way through the restaurant to the family bathroom, both equally tall men wanting to hold the little one’s hand. With the door locked, Pearce lifted the slim 5 foot 7 boy onto the raised side with ease and together with Connor, changed their first ever diaper. “Lift up buddy.” Connor said, patting Koda’s now full tummy. They managed to manoeuvre a dry diaper under the boy’s bare bum and sprinkle powder, nearly in the right place.

“We’ll need to get better at that.” Connor murmured to his husband as he watched Pearce tape the boy’s crinkly underwear closed. They helped Koda to his feet and shimmied his old dark green shorts back up. Before leaving the bathroom, the boy unexpectedly wrapped his arms around the pair and shyly mumbled a thankyou. His sweet actions, hit both men hard as they hugged him back, if there was any debate on their decision before, Koda’s little gesture had sealed the deal.

As soon as they got back to the orphanage, Koda almost instantly reverted to the shy withdrawn boy they had first met. “Koda?” Connor knelt down to look into the boy’s bowed face and took ahold of his hand. “Would you like to maybe, spend the night at our house?” Connor could see a shine in the little ones eyes as they widened to the biggest innocent orbs he had ever seen. “Y… yes please.” Koda replied in a whisper, smiling at the incredibly kind man.

While Pearce took care of the official paperwork once again, Connor helped Koda pack his belongings for their sleepover as the little one was determined to bring everything he cared about with him. With both men working as a team, they were ready to go in just a few short minutes.

Sitting in the backseat, behind his new friends, Koda was full of conflicting emotions and as his mind raced, his silence had not gone unnoticed. “You doing okay back there buddy?” Connor looked at the boy in his sunvisor mirror, recognising the all too familiar look of nervousness on Koda’s face. Blinking at Connor, he gave him a little smile, holding his stuffed tiger up to his cheek. “You know, we should pick up some food, we don’t have much at home.” Connor said to Pearce, getting a nod from his husband as he flicked on the indicator to make the turn to the supermarket. As they parked the car, Connor nudged Pearce’s knee, hinting at what he really wanted to get, getting a knowing chuckle in reply.

Climbing out of the car, Koda looked to Connor and worked up all the confidence he could muster. “Um… can I hold hands again… please?” The little ones request made Connor beam, happily taking his hand as they headed inside. Pearce pushed the trolley beside his husband, picking up the ingredients for dinner and a few necessary items they would need for Koda, before steering them into the clothing isle. Koda was so oblivious to their plan that Connor had to gently pull him to a halt as he continued walking past. “Huh?” He looked back at the pair with a puzzled expression.

Looking at Connor first, Pearce smiled at the bewildered boy. “We wanted to buy you a little something and thought you could use some comfy shoes.” The couple saw a twinkle of a tear forming in the boy’s eye and were equally shocked when he moved in close and cuddled up to them. They let Koda choose a new pair of cute blue and white trainers, without letting him look at the prices and then picked out a green tshirt with a cartoon dinosaur roaring on the front, that was too adorable to pass up and a new pair of comfy red jogging bottoms to boot.

It was a very new experience for Koda, at the orphanage, clothes weren’t a priority and with a razor thin budget, new items were extremely rare. In fact this would be the first time he received something brand new since his 16th birthday, more than four years earlier. Pearce soon noticed the boy staring into space and after handing the trolley off to his husband, put his arm around Koda, slowly walking him into the toy isle. His dark brown orbs almost popped out of his head right then and there as he gazed around at the fully stocked colourful shelves. “We don’t have many toys at our place, so I think we should choose something fun that we can play with tonight.”

Looking up at the big man with his glistening eyes, Koda couldn’t believe it, all this attention and affection was enough to make the abandoned little’s head spin. A wide smile spread across his face as he shyly hid his face against Pearce’s shirt. It was important to both Connor and Pearce that Koda chose something he wanted and after much prompting and encouragement, the little one picked out a playmobile police helicopter and some fun looking, brightly coloured play-doh.

“Babe, do you mind going to pay? We’ll meet you at the car.” Pulling the diaper bag over his shoulder told Pearce all he needed to know and after leaning in to give his husband a quick kiss, he headed to the checkout. Connor’s second attempt at changing a diaper went a lot smoother, getting the little man nice and dry once more. “All done!” He cheered, helping Koda to his feet. “T’ankyou.” Koda hummed, wrapping his arms around Connor.

They caught up to Pearce just outside the store and Koda excitedly ran up to him, so he could peek inside the shopping bags. “Hey buddy.” Pearce chuckled. The muscular man then lifted the smiley Koda into his seat and buckled his seatbelt for him. “Thankyou.” Koda said politely, grabbing his stuffed tiger from the seat.

On the ride home, the couple were chatting about dinner, when Pearce looked in his rearview mirror and saw that their guest for the evening was sound asleep, leaning forward in his seat with his head drooped. “Oh my god. That is just so cute!” Connor gushed, trying to keep quiet so as not to disturb him. “I can hardly believe we’re doing this.” He beamed, stroking Pearce’s knee.

“I have to confess, I wasn’t sure how today was going to go. But after meeting him… I get it.” It was true, at first Pearce was doing this purely for Connor, but gazing back at the sleeping boy, he understood his feelings all too well. “Should we wake him?” Connor asked as they arrived home. “Nah, let him sleep a little. Can you grab the shopping?” Pearce replied quietly, gently unbuckling Koda’s seatbelt and lifting him into his arms. “Jesus, he hardly weighs anything.” He whispered as they went inside. As Pearce sat on the sofa with Koda nestled in his lap, Connor felt a twinge of envy. “Do you want me to take him?” He asked quietly, looking down at the boy nibbling on his thumb. “Pshh. Wait your turn.” Pearce japed.

Connor was feeling pretty proud of his husband as he watched him cuddling Koda from the kitchen, Pearce hadn’t seemed too interested whenever he had spoken about kids before and here he was enjoying this intimate moment with Koda. Setting their drinks down on the coffee table, Connor lounged with one leg pulled up, smiling at the two of them. They quietly chatted about what they would need to accommodate the boy full time, of course nothing was for sure yet, but judging by how soundly Koda was snoozing in Pearce’s lap, it was evident he was comfortable with them.

Suddenly, there was a wriggle of life as Koda woke and sat up, looking a little surprised. “Hi there sleepy.” Connor smiled, seeing Koda blink his tired eyes at him. “Mm sorry.” The shy boy mumbled, feeling quite worried that the kind new men would be upset with him. “Nothing to be sorry for buddy.” Pearce smiled, gently rubbing his back.

They gave the refreshed boy a drink of juice and decided it would be a good idea to show him around his home for the night. Koda brought Stripey along as he held Connor’s hand on his tour and was amazed by the very clean, very smart looking home. Everything had it’s place and it almost made the timid little afraid to touch anything. “And this…” Pearce said, nudging the bright white door open. “Is your room, right next to ours.”

Standing back for a moment, they let Koda head inside and discover his surroundings for himself. With a light wood dresser and matching wardrobe at one end and a single bed, neatly dressed in blue and white at the other, it was the most perfect room Koda had ever seen. He stood in the centre of the room and looked down at the circular rug below, enjoying the fuzzy feeling of the material on his toes. Like a curious cat, he plopped down on his poofy rear and ran his fingers through the incredibly soft shaggy rug. While Connor stood gushing at the boy from the doorway, Pearce had retrieved his belongings and all together they unpacked.

When they had finished, the room looked like it belonged to Koda. His jammies were folded neatly on the end of the bed, his spare clothes hung in the open wardrobe and his stuffed tiger sat proudly by the pillow. On the dresser, there sat stacks of crisp white diapers and on the bedside table, Koda had placed his nighttime paci and the drawing Pearce had given him hours earlier. “How about we go open up your new toys hm?” As soon as Connor mentioned the ‘T’ word, Koda’s head shot up and with a great big smile, he sped off back into the front room.

While the couple made a start on dinner in the open plan kitchen, they kept an eye on the little one as he played with his new helicopter in the middle of the living room. “Hey.” Pearce nudged his distracted husband after getting no answer. “Hm?” Connor replied, tearing his eyes away from Koda. “Nevermind. I’ve got this, why don’t you go keep our boy company.” Pearce said with a wink. His choice of words had Connor stare at him for a moment, before then planting a sweet kiss on his lips.

During dinner, Koda sat between the two men at the small round table, eagerly spearing the tasty cut up chicken and pasta with his fork. He kept his brand new brightly coloured sippy cup tucked into his free hand throughout the meal, feeling incredibly grateful for all the gifts he had received today. “Um… please can I have juice?” He asked in a soft voice, now feeling more comfortable around the couple. “Coming right up!” Pearce said cheerfully, jumping to his feet.

However being so new to having a little one to care for, they hadn’t kept a close enough eye on the boy’s fluid intake and as everyone finished dinner, their mistake became clear. “Uhhh….” A frozen look of fear came over Koda, with all the colour draining from his cheeks. As the unmistakable warm feeling trickled down Koda’s legs, his lip quivered and tears burst from his eyes. “I didn’t mean tooo!” Koda wailed, burying his face in his hands as he stood. “Hey, it’s okay. Oooh there there.” Connor wrapped his supportive arms around Koda and stroked the sobbing boy’s back, quickly ushering him into the bathroom. He looked back at Pearce and saw his husband was already heading to clean up Koda’s mess before he had a chance to ask.

Connor calmed Koda down and helped the shaken boy out of his wet clothes, dropping them in the washing basket. “It’s okay sweetie, don’t you worry, let’s run you a nice bath and get you all freshened up yeah?” Connor got a small nod from the teary boy and got the water running. Just as he was helping Koda into the bath, Pearce joined them and the apologetic boy spun around feeling his presence. “I’m really sorry! I’ll clean it up I swear! P’ease don’t make me go.” His voice wobbled and trailed off as the sadness became overwhelming.

Taking a great big step over to the bath, Pearce hugged Koda’s head to his chest. “Don’t you worry little one. You are welcome to stay for as long as you want to.” With their reassurances calming Koda’s worries once more, the couple dotingly bathed the boy and were all smiles as they soon got him giggling while playing with the bubbles. Swooping Koda out, they got him dried, just as the silent clock on the wall read a quarter to 9. “Time for jammies.” Connor announced, patting the boy’s messy towelled hair. He decided Pearce should change Koda into his diaper, as he needed the practice and stood behind him, trying his hardest not to nitpick or interject. “There!” Pearce grinned, pleased with his work. “What do you think buddy? Comfy?”

“Yep!” Koda cheered. He wriggled to his feet and swiped up the paci he had laid out, popping the bright red item into his mouth. Connor then helped him into his cute Buzz Lightyear pyjamas and combed flat Koda’s damp black hair. Curling at the ends, it was a cute shaggy look that both men found almost too adorable. “Right then, time for juice and a movie I think.” Pearce said, stretching his arms above his head.

Following the slow moving boy, Pearce relaxed at one end of the sofa, with Connor snuggled into his side. At first, Koda sat on his own cushion watching the opening of Finding Nemo, but noticing the cuddling couple, he found the courage to make his way over and join them. Being held by the love of his life and with Koda snuggled between his legs, Connor honestly couldn’t imagine anywhere else he would rather be.

An hour into the movie, Pearce pecked his daydreaming husband on the cheek. “I think we should put someone to bed.” He whispered quietly, directing his partners gaze to the sleeping little in his lap. “God, that’s so cute.” Connor groaned, stroking his fingers through Koda’s sweet smelling hair. He barely made a sound as Connor carried him to bed, laying his weary head on the kind man’s shoulder, his loose lips barely holding his paci in.

Pearce pulled back the covers and Connor laid the sleepy boy down on the comfy new mattress. Slipping Stripey under his arm, they pulled the freshly cleaned covers snugly over him. They stood arm in arm, gazing down at the adorable sleeping boy, until Pearce leaned in and whispered into his besotted husbands ear. “I want him to stay.” He turned Connor to face him and gave him a loving smile. “I’m ready to be a Papa.”

  
  


Early the next morning, Pearce woke hearing a peculiar rustling and after pulling himself up from the comfortable bed, he rubbed his gluey eyes and went in search of the noise. He peeked around the doorframe into Koda’s room and saw the very sleepy boy attempting to unfold a clean diaper. “Hey buddy, is everything okay?” He asked quietly as he entered the room. “I’m rea’y sorry… I .. uh … I…” In a fluster, Koda was afraid he would be in trouble for rousing Pearce. “I’m sorry for… waking you…” He had managed to pull off his pyjama bottoms and rip one side of his very wet nighttime diaper, leaving it hanging from his hips.

Even in his sleep addled state, Pearce could see how upset the boy was, but fortunately knew just what to do. “You didn’t wake me little one, I just needed the loo.” He fibbed. “I’ll help you change sweetie.” He laid the boy down and took off the swollen, ripped diaper, slipping a clean one under him at the same time. With a big cloud of powder, he finished diapering Koda and helped him back into his bottoms. “There we go, all better.” His deep voice was almost as soothing as the cuddle he gave the boy. Pearce sat on the bed, holding Koda in his lap, until he was sure he had fully calmed. “Let’s get you tucked back into bed hm?” Koda gave him a very sleepy nod and laid back in the most comfortable bed he had ever been in. After pulling the covers back over the tired boy, Pearce gently brushed the hair out of Koda’s eyes. “I need you to do something for me, okay little one? Next time you wake up, I want you to come find me okay?” Pearce wanted Koda to know, that if he needed anything, he was always there and with a yawning nod from the boy, Pearce slipped out of the room, leaving him to sleep.

Connor propped himself up, just as Pearce was tiptoeing his way back to bed. “Is everything okay?” Easing his tired body back into bed, Pearce smiled and kissed him softly. “He’s all good, I changed him and put him back to bed.” Snuggling together, they also quickly fell back asleep, with Connor dreaming of his loving husband taking care of their boy.

  
  


Over breakfast, Connor couldn’t wait to tell Koda what he and Pearce had discussed. Watching him finish his last bite of scrambled eggs, Connor squeezed Pearce’s hand and took in a slow breath. “Koda, we loved having you here and…” Connor began, glancing at his husband before they both smiled at the bemused boy infront of them. “… and we were hoping you would like to stay.” Pearce said slowly, taking over from his giddy partner.

Koda was completely taken by surprise, he tried to speak but all he could produce was a very quiet squeak from deep within. His eyes widened, brimming with happy pearly tears as he scrambled his way out of his chair, flinging himself into the couples waiting arms. Wrapping the weepy boy in a shroud of protection, they cuddled him, feeling the waves of happiness pulse from their charge. “I think that’s a yes.” Pearce chuckled.

He filled the hole in their hearts like nothing else could and as they accepted him into their home and their lives, the once withdrawn boy flourished. With their unwavering love and guidance, over the next few months, Koda came out of his shell and showed them just how funny, loving and happy he could be.


	2. Moving In And Moving On

With Koda moved and settled in, the next move was to get him into daycare, while both Connor and Pearce worked. What they hadn’t counted on, was just how difficult it was to find an ABDL daycare that had a vacancy for their little one. A couple of weeks, quickly turned into a couple of months and before they knew it, half a year had flown by. But luckily for Koda, Connor and Pearce had a wonderful network of friends and family who were more than happy to chip in and help the new fathers out.

“Okay sweetie, JJ should be here any moment.” Connor called out, fiddling with his tie in the mirror. Koda’s babysitter for the day was running a little late, but Connor was taking it all in his stride, mainly because he didn’t particularly want to go to work. Over the last couple of weeks, he had been enjoying his job less and less, but was at a loss for what he wanted to move onto next. He finished getting ready and pulled a funny face at himself in the mirror, before trudging off to put on his shoes. Just as he sat there was a rhythmic rapping on the door. “Oh good. Koda!? Can you get the door for me?” He yelled out down the hallway.

“’kay Daddy!” No matter how many times he heard Koda call him Daddy, it never failed to make him happy. The sound of light boy’s footsteps, padding towards the front door made Connor smirk. “Hi!” Koda smiled widely at his babysitter for the day. “Hey mini-man, sorry I’m late.” JJ was Connor’s best friend from university and a writer, so his job didn’t anchor him to any place in-particular. He had known both Connor and Pearce before they were a couple and since meeting Koda, had had an immediate soft spot for him. As always, JJ wore his wavy brown hair in a bun, with his jeans and old hoodie, his favourite clothes that he practically lived in. “Hey Con, heading out?” He said with a yawn as he dropped onto the sofa.

Koda’s head spun around from his spot on the living room rug, to see Connor holding his arms out for one more cuddle. “Yeah, there’s money on the side and food in the fridge.” He said squeezing Koda tightly. JJ tipped his head back, looking at Connor upside-down. “Dude, I haven’t taken it before and I don’t plan on starting now. When are you gonna stop leaving it out?”

“When you finally take it.” Connor cocked his head, replying with an air of sass in his voice. “Can I take it?” Koda asked, giving him an innocent look. “Nice try, no.” Connor smirked, booping his boy’s nose. “I really have to go now, be good. Oh and JJ? No more war movies please.” JJ was researching for another of his stories and last week had flicked on Hacksaw Ridge to take notes and get some inspiration, but didn’t realise Koda had started watching. Needless to say the nightmares that followed, were enough to discourage Koda from watching any more scary grown up films in the future. “Yeah I’m really sorry about that, I didn’t think he was watching.”

“Love you!” Koda yelled, sending Connor off to work with a sweet farewell. “JJ, can we do the puzzle?” He asked, bouncing on his heels. with an excited wide stare. “Sure we can.” JJ had quickly discovered Koda was fascinated by puzzles and riddles of all kinds and began bringing over all different sorts for him to try out. At the moment they were working on an enormous 1000 piece Pokemon jigsaw, that had been sitting in JJ’s cupboard, unopened for some time. They kept their progress on a flat wooden board that slid under the sofa and even though the two were working on it together, JJ held back, letting the clever boy work it out for himself. “Wow, look at that! You found a piece straight away, good job mini-man.”

Their days together were always fun because JJ had a knack for coming up with all sorts of different things to keep Koda occupied and entertained. He was a very nurturing person and since their first meeting, he had taken on a mentor/caring role almost instinctively. When Connor had approached him about babysitting him a few days a week, JJ jumped at the chance. He filled an uncle-like position in the boy’s life with ease and after learning of his sheltered and stunted upbringing, made it his mission to teach Koda as much knowledge as he could. Infact one of his favourite things to do with the curious boy, was to take him out for the day and educate him about nature, history and the world around him.

This particular day, JJ had planned an afternoon out at a wildlife park, that he knew Koda would love. With lunch out of the way and a fully stocked diaper bag in the boot, Koda was buckled in and excited to go. “What animals will we see?” The little asked, barely able to keep still on the drive.

JJ chuckled, feeling the vibes pulsing from his animated charge. “Hmm, I’m not sure, I guess we will have to wait and see.” Koda remained quiet with a permanent smile, thinking to himself about what was to come, that was until the wildlife park’s sign came into view. Koda bounced in his seat and gasped seeing the script lettered sign. “We’re here!”

JJ made sure to keep a tight hold on Koda’s hand, so he wouldn’t run off in all the excitement, but ended up being pulled along by the speedy boy to their first stop, the meerkats. Peering over the iron railing that surrounded the enclosure, Koda’s dark eyes gleamed as he followed the darting little mammals around the rocks. But as ever with JJ, he had a plan to help the bouncy boy expand his mind on his fun day out. Having been before, he knew the large information boards at each enclosure were very informative and easy to follow. “Wow, look at this mini-man. Did you know, that they live in burrows underground? And they like to live in groups of up to 50!?”

“Woah!” Seeing Koda’s eyes sparkle, JJ knew he was ready to learn. And sure enough the next enclosure they went to, Koda made a b-line straight to the information board. “Oh! I know where Lemurs live before looking!” He announced proudly, looking up at his mentor. Leaning his hand on the board, to cover the answer, JJ grinned. “Okay, where do Lemurs come from?”

“They live in Madagascar.” Koda answered with a modest smile. “Very good! You are such a clever boy.” Hugging the boy to his side, JJ was beaming with pride, never having any doubt in Koda’s ability. Throughout the park, they stopped at every animal habitat and read up on every fact and Koda soaked up all the information like a sponge, reciting back his favourites to JJ as they headed back to the entrance. “You are going to have so much to tell your daddies tonight.” He said with a chuckle, knowing later he would be talking Connor and Pearce’s ears off.

JJ came to a stop, just outside the gift shop as he saw Koda peering through the filled window. “Let’s go have a peek.” He whispered, giving his little genius a wink. The entire store had Koda in awe, everything shimmered with an angelic like glow as he scanned over the many toys on offer. Expecting the boy to head to the plethora of stuffed toys, JJ was pleasantly surprised to see Koda eyeing up the jigsaw puzzles.

That night, Koda chatted non-stop to his cuddly parents about his fun day out with JJ and all the wonderful animals he had seen, only letting up when it was time for bed. He held his trip in such high esteem, that it remained the focal topic for many days. That was until Pearce received some even bigger news.

  
  


Pearce had a skip in his step as he bounded up the stairs to their apartment and not just because it was takeaway night. Clutching his very full KFC bag, he hummed cheerily as he let himself in. “I’m home! Who’s hungry?” Hearing Pearce call out, Koda jumped up from the sofa, dropping his sippy cup in the process and ran to greet him. “Papa!” He cheeped, beaming a bright grin at him. “Hey buddy.” Pearce patted Koda’s head and held him to his chest. “Can you take this to Daddy for me?”

“’kay!” Koda nodded, carrying the straining white plastic to the kitchen. Pearce slipped his shoes onto the nearly full rack and hung up his jacket, before joining his boys in the kitchen. Connor stuck his lips out, asking for a kiss as he hastily unpacked the food onto the table. “Hey beautiful.” Pearce said with a kiss. He sat in his usual seat next to Koda, who was already reaching out for his favourite popcorn chicken. “So, I have some news.” With both sets of eyes on him, Pearce couldn’t hold his smile back. “I got a phone call today and it looks like someone will be starting daycare next week!”

“Holy shit! Really?!” Connor’s surprise outburst, made Koda gasp and point at him. “Just ‘cause Daddy did, doesn’t mean you can.” Connor smirked, pointing a warning finger. “We really…? I mean we got a place? W-where is it?” After their long arduous search, it almost didn’t seem real and Connor was at a loss for words.

“The one in Winterville.” Pearce said, popping a small piece of chicken into his mouth with a huge grin. “Friday afternoon we have an appointment to meet the teachers.” He added, winking at Koda as he took a bite from a fried chicken drumstick. Their boy slowly ate his dinner, while in a blissful daydream, thinking what it would be like to go to daycare. Connor and Pearce saw the far away smile on Koda’s face and smiled at each other. “He’s daydreaming.” Connor mouthed silently, adding more chicken onto Koda’s plate as the boy absent mindedly lifted the food to his mouth.

After dinner was cleared away, Connor changed Koda’s diaper and headed to work on his latest creation at the kitchen table. He had his sewing machine, material and pins spread out over every available inch. “Daddy do I need to help yet?” Koda asked sweetly, peering at the covered table. “Not yet sweetie, but maybe later on okay?” Connor smiled, stroking Koda’s hair. “Go cuddle Papa.” He whispered with a wink, sending him scampering towards the sofa. Connor had always been good with sewing and really enjoyed customising and designing his own clothes. Recently though Connor had taken to designing cute clothes for Koda and had even gotten a few requests from close friends, for similar childish attire. Koda not only love getting new clothes to wear, but he loved being Connor’s model and showing them off to anyone he could.

Koda gently tapped on Pearce’s knee, making him look away from his phone at the smiley boy. “Papa, Daddy said cuddle.” He told him, eager to climb into his lap. “Alright.” Pearce smirked, guiding Koda up and wrapping a protective arm around his middle. “Comfy, little one?” Leaning his head against his Papa, Koda nodded and flicked the channel over to Paw Patrol as he settled in for the night.

Looking up from his sewing, Connor glanced over with pure affection at the two snuggled up together. Koda was glued to the adventures of the pups on screen, sucking on his paci, while Pearce was scrolling on his phone. Finishing up for the night, Connor stretched his arms above his head, feeling happy with his progress on his latest piece. “I think it’s bathtime for someone.” Tearing his eyes away from the TV, Koda pointed to Pearce trying to pass the buck. “Nice try.” Connor burst into a loud laugh and ushered Koda to the bathroom.

There was one thing Koda looked forward to when his Daddy mentioned the ‘B’ word, his squirting, squeaking, happily swimming rubber ducks. With his attention on the bright toys, Connor was able to get to work cleaning his boy, although after he rinsed his jet black hair, the water tickled Koda’s ear and caused him to shake off like a puppy, showering Connor in tiny droplets. “Pfff! Corrrr!” Connor groaned, pinching his eyes closed and holding his arms away. “I could have done without the shower thankyou.” He chuckled, brushing down his heavily dotted shirt.

  
  


  
  


The couple both arrived home at Friday lunchtime, ready to go to the daycare for their first meeting with Miss Lime, the owner of Big Tot’s Daycare. “Okay little one, you need to settle down please.” Pearce was attempting to calm the overexcited boy and get him into a fresh diaper, so they could start the long drive north. Pearce opted to get Koda changed and ready, while Connor got himself freshened up after another unhappy day at work.

“Bum up sweetie.” Sliding the thick white diaper under Koda, Pearce readjusted the fit and securely taped it in place, then helped his boy back into his smart clean trousers. Standing back, he looked at Koda in his adorable outfit and smiled. “Don’t you look smart.” He hummed, cuddling him to his chest.

“Ooh, I needed that.” Coming around the corner, Connor finished drying his face with a hand towel from the bathroom. “Wow, my smart dressed men.” He grinned, thinking to himself how lucky he was. “Daddy! You’re not ready! We have to gooo.” Koda whined and danced on the spot, getting impatient. He couldn’t wait to get going and see if the mystical daycare was all he dreamed it to be. “Alright, I’m going.” Connor chuckled, walking off with his hands up in surrender.

If they were hoping for Koda to fall asleep on the journey, they were out of luck. The long drive did nothing to diminish his excitement as he bounced Stripey on his knee and hummed loudly to the radio. “How far now?” He called forward for the tenth time, his voice squeaking from overuse. “Not too far now Koda, 15 minutes or so.” Pearce told him, again. He chuckled to himself at how eager their boy was. “What will we do there? Can Stripey come in? How long is the day? What will I learn? Are they nice? How many people will be there?” Koda was a bundle of questions, he had never had an opportunity like this before and he was unbelievably grateful.

As the questions kept coming, the neatly kept building homed into view. “Here we are!” Connor sung, pulling up between the pristine white stripes. “Yaaayyy!!” Koda yelled, undoing his seatbelt. Walking through the front door, Koda’s eyes opened wide. The room was a little’s haven, to the left of the entrance was a little library area, with bookcases full of bright story books and topped with cuddly soft toys above, next to which was an open area with soft cushions and little chairs, the perfect setup for story time. The whole room had a bright colourful carpet and lots of childish paintings on the walls. There were numbers and letters with swirls and spots along two bright walls and a cute farmyard scene opposite. The main area of the room had eight, light blue oval tables and four red plastic chairs around each. In the centre sat pencil holders, full of pens, pencils and crayons, that drew Koda’s attention like a tractor beam, it took all his restraint to stop himself jumping into a chair and scribbling on the paper.

“Good afternoon!” A woman in her late 30’s with an incredibly long ponytail that hung down her back, swishing from side to side, came out of the office to greet the trio. “I’m Miss Lime, pleased to meet you!” She said in a chipper voice.

Pearce reached his hand forward first, taking the lead. “Good afternoon, I’m Pearce, we spoke on the phone. This is my partner Connor and _this_ is our boy Koda.” He smiled, signalling to his husband, before putting his hands on the, now shy, Koda’s shoulders. “Ah, excellent, nice to meet you all. Koda I’ve heard lots about you.” The teacher said, bending forward to meet Koda’s eyeline.

They were first introduced to Miss Lime’s helpers, Sarah, a soft spoken, gentle woman and Dee, the youngest of the three, a student who was working on her degree in child care and an excellent addition to their team. “I’d be lost without these two, they really complete Big Tot’s.” Miss Lime lightly patted each of their shoulders as she proudly showed them off. “Now then.” She said clapping her hands together. “Koda, let me give you the tour and then I can sort the adult-y bits out with your Daddies.” Koda gingerly took her outstretched hand as his shyness began to wear off.

After being given the grand tour, the couple saw how happy and excited Koda was and officially enrolled him right then and there. They spent almost an hour and a half with Miss Lime, getting all the information and schedules they needed and asking the usual questions every parent had. “I very much look forward to seeing you on Monday Koda.” The little one looked back at his new teacher and smiled brightly, his nerves now a thing of the past. “I can’t wait!” He cheeped excitedly.

  
  


That night, Connor raised the issue of the long drive, but between them they weighed up the pro’s and con’s and after months of babysitters and friends looking after Koda, it was ultimately decided that it was too good of an opportunity for their boy to pass up. “We’ll split it evenly Babe, I know it’s far, but it’s worth it, did you see his face?” Pearce mentioning Koda’s reaction made Connor smile as he thought back to the gleeful look he had.

Koda loved the daycare from his very first day and his Daddy and Papa, saw immediately the benefits that the structured environment had on their baby boy. Socialising with other ABDL’s also gave him a much needed confidence boost and helped him built friendships with others just like him.

  
  


The issue of driving remained a constant strain on the couple for months, but Pearce had an idea that he’d been brewing for a while. “You want to buy a house?!” Connor was completely floored by his suggestion. “Yeah. I mean, let’s be honest, this place is getting quite cramped with three of us living here and you’ve always wanted a house. It just makes sense. Plus I can finally get a garage.” Pearce saw Connor’s shock fade and the wheels start turning and knew that after planting the seed, he would see it take root and grow.

While they were both fully onboard, Koda was apprehensive. “No thankyou.” Sitting on the floor, he shook his head rapidly from side to side and was just about to run off, when Pearce scooped him up and sat with him in his lap on the comfy sofa. Whenever Koda was upset or didn’t want to do something, he would run off to the sanctity of his bedroom and push the door closed, to signal his refusal. “Sweetie, can you tell Papa why you don’t want to move?” Pearce’s challenge was met with a very pouty look that he had to try hard not to smirk at. “This is home.” Koda mumbled, bowing his head. Connor gave him a sympathetic smile from across the room as Pearce stroked the boy’s back.

  
  


When they started viewing houses, their plan was to take Koda along in the hopes that seeing the new properties would help change his mind. For the next few months they saved enough for the down-payment and along with both their savings, had enough to make a good start furnishing their chosen dwelling. Both put in a substantial amount of overtime and cut back on unnecessary luxuries, to get to their goal that little bit quicker. It took Koda a little while to work out what they were doing, but once he caught on, he became the most vigilant of them all. Especially when it came to food shopping.

“No Papa!” Leaning over from his seat in the trolley, he picked the box of cereal up and handed back to Pearce. “That one is less moneys.” Koda pointed to the cheaper, less vibrant box on the lower shelf. “Are you sure Sweetie? These are your favourite.” Pearce was taken back, knowing how much Koda enjoyed the cinnamon cereal. But with a sweet nod, Koda insisted. Around the supermarket, Koda set out to buy only the cheaper items and refused any treats that he deemed ‘too expensive’ eager to save all he could. On the way home, the little one was very interested to know how much they spent and how much it was different from usual. “Wow! We did it!” He cheered, celebrating his big win.

“Daddy! 23!” The smiling boy yelled as they arrived home, darting off to his room to make a note on a spare piece of paper. “What’s 23?” Connor asked, utterly bewildered by Koda’s announcement. Pearce couldn’t keep the smile from his face as he told Connor of Koda’s incredibly cute way of helping. “Oh my god, he did? That is so sweet!” Connor gushed, holding his hands up to his cheeks.

  
  


With boxes and packing materials all over the apartment, the stresses started to show as it crept ever closer to the big day. The couple decided it would be a good idea to get away for the weekend and a trip to Pearce’s parents was long overdue.

“Papa…” Koda was a bundle of nerves having never met his new grandparents before. “W-what if they don’t like me?” He asked shyly, staring into the face of his stuffed tiger. Connor shot Pearce an imploring look, before focusing back on the road. Pearce turned around and reached back, lifting Koda’s chin. “They are going to love you little one, just like we do.” Pearce could still see doubt in Koda’s dark eyes. “I’m not sure if I should say, but Mama has a surprise for you. And she wouldn’t do that if she wasn’t looking forward to meeting you.” He told the wary boy with a smile.

Pearce’s parents lived in a modest four bedroom detached cottage that was almost 2 hours drive north of the boys’ home. In the front garden was a grand old oak tree that still had the a tire swing hanging from it’s mighty branch, that Pearce had played on, with countless friends and family as a child. “Heh, can’t believe that rope is still holding up.” He chuckled, feeling the rush of memories flood back at the sight of it.

Already standing at the wide white door, Pearce’s Mum Maya was waving as they crunched along on the stoney drive. The front garden was immaculately kept as always, but with Maya being in the horticulture business for over 35 years, they didn’t expect anything less. “Hi Mama!” Pearce bellowed, pushing his car door closed and making his way over to her with open arms. “Ohh my boy!” Being almost a foot shorter than her son, Maya wrapped her arms around his midsection. “It’s been too long.” Looking up she saw Connor helping Koda out of the car and released Pearce, so he could rejoin them. “Connorrrrr! Come!” She called, waving him over to her for the inevitable greeting squeeze. From their first date, Connor was immediately accepted into Pearce’s family and from that day, had grown a bond stronger than his own family. “So good to see you my boy, you look well.” She beamed.

“Ah! And this handsome young man, must be Koda.” Before Pearce had a chance to stop his Mum, she pulled the nervous boy into a warm, snug cuddle and gently ruffled the back of his head. In that instant, all Koda’s fears and worries were gone, leaving him with a big toothy smile, much to both Connor and Peace’s amazement. “How did you…?” Connor muttered, feeling relieved Koda was happy again. “A mother’s touch dear.” Maya smiled, patting his arm. “Come, come inside. Pearce will grab the bags.” She smiled, eager to present Koda with her gift. Connor smiled at Pearce and took Koda’s hand, following Maya into the pristine cottage. 

Sitting on the kitchen table was a large paper bag, tied at the top with red ribbon and a rigid white tag with Koda’s name on it. Having already been told he had a gift coming in the car, did nothing to dampen his surprise as he tugged frantically on Connor’s sleeve and stared forward with wide bulging eyes. Maya smiled at Koda’s reaction and invited him to open it. “I thought it would be appropriate.” She whispered, nudging Connor. 

Koda unravelled the ribbon, letting it flutter to the tabletop and opening the folded top, he gasped at what he saw. Ever so gently, he lifted the fuzzy, handmade bear out of his paper confines and held him in his hands. Pearce had finished dropping their bags in the hallway and was leaning against the counter next to Connor, watching Koda inspect his new friend. “I love him…Thankyou.” Koda said softly, engulfing Maya in a thankyou cuddle. 

From then on, the fuzzy bear didn’t leave Koda’s side for a moment, he was completely taken with his cute new friend and how snuggly the light brown bear was. It was the perfect size that when Koda was sat with his bear in his lap, he could rest his head ontop of him comfortably. They migrated into the living room where Romeo, Pearce’s father, was sat in his wingback chair reading one of his new books.

Soon they were treated to a wonderful, huge homecooked meal that was oh-so typical of Maya. Even though everyone was full there was still a whole host of leftovers piled on the kitchen worktop. The whole family relaxed in the lounge and over the course of the night chatted and joked, getting to know their new member that little bit better.

Through the window, the stars twinkled in the black night sky and as the fire crackled down to a dull ember glow, it was time to turn in. “Ooh up we go sleepy boy.” Pearce lifted the drooping, drowsy boy into his arms and bid his parents a goodnight. “Goodnight dear. Goodnight Koda, sweet dreams.” Maya replied, getting a sweet smile and weak wave from the very sleepy boy.

  
  


After a mountainous lunch on Sunday, Maya had roped both strapping men into helping her pick up some gardening supplies from the nearby garden centre. “It won’t take long. Koda can stay with me.” Romeo said nonchalantly, heading into the large living room, ready for his afternoon of racing. The large windows, flooded the room with sunshine, illuminating the exposed brickwork and dark varnished wood decor. The large room was adorned with matching antiques, collected over many years and lots of inviting plush seating ready for a large number of guests.

“You have my mobile right? And if he wants to nap he might need changing when he-” Pearce was in full Papa mode as he tied his shoes. “I can handle it. He’s only one boy.” Romeo waved off Pearce’s nagging and relaxed into his armchair. Koda was engrossed in his puzzle book on the carpet in the middle of the living room, kicking his legs playfully as he worked on his wordsearch. “Sweetie, we’re going now, we’ll be back shortly. Ask Grampa if you need anything.” Pearce smiled, holding his arms out for a cuddle.

Hopping up to his feet, Koda wrapped his arms around Pearce. “’kay Papa, see you soon.” He said softly, cuddling him tightly. After Connor got his own cuddle, the little one waved until they closed the front door behind them, then headed back to his spot.

  
  


Feeling the sleepy haze begin to descend, Koda was having trouble finishing his search. Pulling himself to his feet, he turned with his book in hand to Romeo. “Can’t find the last two, can you help?” He asked rubbing his sleepy eye. Romeo smiled and lifted Koda into the large armchair next to him, with an audible crinkle. “Well then, let’s see.” Grabbing his reading glasses from the small dark wooden table next to him, he wrinkled his nose and scanned over the wordsearch. “Hm, yes they’re well hidden.” With one arm around Koda’s waist, he started to help him find his missing words. “This starts with a ‘PE’. Hm, can you help me find a P with an E next to it?” Instead of simply doing the puzzle for him, Romeo helped Koda find them himself, giving the boy a sense of achievement as he completed his wordsearch.

“Well then my boy, shall we get you upstairs for a sleep?” Romeo asked, hugging the weary boy. But Koda didn’t like that idea at all and shook his head. “No? You don’t want?” Romeo gave his side a gently pat, surprised by the boy’s reaction. “I’s lonely upstairs.” Koda liked their house, but it was bigger than he was used to and with no-one else home, the emptiness was a little daunting. Romeo patted the boy once more and quietly chuckled, discovering he was more like him than he had realised. “I know what you mean.” He too didn’t like going upstairs when his wife wasn’t home, the large open rooms had a gaping emptiness about them. “Well then, we’ll stay here and relax for a while hm?” Romeo reached forward picking up Koda’s paci from the floor and handed it to the drowsy little.

Romeo had the radio filling the room with calming music and Formula 1 racing muted on the tv, like he did every Sunday. Except this Sunday, sharing his big comfy chair, was the very welcome addition of his new grandson.

When the trio returned and unloaded the heavy gardening supplies for Maya, they found a very cute scene of Romeo and Koda fast asleep together in his chair. “What are you doing?” Connor whispered with a chuckle. “Taking a… photo.” Pearce said, holding his phone up infront of him and snapping a few still shots.

  
  


After a perfect couple of days, they were fully refreshed and ready for the tasking day ahead, but mistiming the drive home, meant they didn’t get home until after Koda’s bedtime. Laying the smiley boy in his bed after a much needed diaper change, Connor quietly slipped out of his room and tiptoed back to the living room. “I think we got away with it.” He whispered, grinning at his rather sleepy looking husband.

Pulling Connor into a bear hug, Pearce wrapped his arms lazily around his man. “It was a good weekend though, wasn’t it?” He asked, leaning his head against Connor and pressing a soft kiss to his golden hair. “Yeah. They were really accepting of Koda and he had so much fun. I wish my family were as loving as yours.” Connor had always been accepted for who he was by Pearce’s family and they didn’t bat an eye when it came to Koda, embracing him with the same love and devotion they had first shown Connor. His own family weren’t as caring, refusing to accept his sexual orientation and basically black listing him once he married Pearce. However, he fell asleep that night, thankful to have such loving people in his life.

  
  


  
  


At Daycare it was arts and crafts day, but someone was starting to struggle. “I am not!” The outraged boy yelled, standing from bright red plastic chair and pointing his finger at the girl sat next to him. “You are stinky! Not me!”

Miss Lime came rushing straight over to the commotion. “Koda, we do not shout.” She explained calmly but firmly. “What is going on here?” Koda was feeling rather irritable from his long drive home yesterday and was struggling to express himself in a calm manner. “She said I was smelly and I’m not! She’s sulking because I have the blue pen!” He yelled, stomping his foot.

Miss Lime wrinkled her nose as Koda continued to shout. “Young man, I need you to calm down please. I don’t want to have to send you to timeout.” She folded her arms, signalling she meant business. Her very long dirty blonde hair, swung slowly from side to side in her signature ponytail. The sulky little however was not backing down, he stomped his foot and threw the disputed blue felt tip to the floor. The instant the pen bounced on the carpeted floor, she took Koda by the hand and whisked him off to the naughty step. “You brought this on yourself.” She told him, hearing the sniffling as he began to cry.

She sat the grumpy boy on the green painted naughty stool and had him face the wall. “5 minutes Koda.” Miss Lime said with a gentle pat on his head.

“I don’t know what has gotten into you today Koda, you are normally such a good boy.” Miss Lime said softly, wiping the frustrated boy’s tears away. “Let’s get you changed, it’s almost story time.” Like everyone that worked at Big Tot’s, Miss Lime was extremely efficient at diaper changes and had the desperately soggy young man swiftly changed into a comfy dry ABU simple. “There we go Koda, you can rejoin everyone now. It might be nice if you apologise to Gigi too.” She smiled, letting him know he was forgiven for his earlier outburst.

He shuffled his way back over to where he had left his colouring on the table and saw Gigi sat looking a little sheepish, thinking she had really upset her friend. Koda twirled his Velcro trainer and fiddled with his fingers, nervously working himself up to apologise. “Um… Gigi. I’m really sorry for shouting and I didn’t mean to be horrible. I hope you still want to be my friend.” Feeling a lump in his throat, Koda was really hoping he would be forgiven.

The frizzy haired young lady looked up at Koda and gave him a big toothy grin. “I’m sorry too. I looked after your colouring for you.” Gigi slid his piece of paper infront of his seat along with a handful of felt tips she had kept aside. With the duo friends again, they finished off their masterpieces and joked around like nothing had happened.

The large childish clock on the wall, with a smiley face, ticked over to 11 o’clock and Sarah, the daycare assistant, stood at the front of the room to make her announcement. “Okay everyone, it’s time to grab some juice and sit in the story area please.” Holding her hands together, her warm smile made the whole room feel cared for. The more boisterous little’s ran ahead of the pack to get their sippy cups first and to get first pick of where they wanted to sit on the patterned carpet, where Miss Lime was waiting with today’s story. The class listened quietly to the story, with the only mild disruptions being when one of the littles headed off for a diaper change.

After their story, the class was ushered into the lunchroom for a tasty, healthy meal and then allowed half an hour of free play. As the day continued, Koda began to slow. Their fun weekend away at Pearce’s parents, plus the stresses of moving house, had played havoc with his sleeping pattern and today he was feeling it. Luckily after free play came naptime and Koda seemed to be the only one in class who didn’t let out a groan or pout. Instead he quietly curled up under his little blanket in the corner and easily fell asleep.

When it was time for everyone to wake up, there was one person that needed a bit more help than the others. “Koda? It’s time to wake up now sweat pea.” Miss Lime said in a soft voice as she tried to coax the sleepy boy out of his slumber. She looked into the boys very sleepy eyes and gave him a sympathetic smile. “Let’s get you into a dry diaper. I think we’ll have Sarah sit with you this afternoon, okay?” The large woman took him by the hand to the, now vacant, changing room. It had taken her so long to rouse Koda, that the other two helpers had already made the rounds and changed everyone who needed it.

When Connor arrived to pick his boy up, he was asked to follow Miss Lime into her office with a very nervous looking Koda in tow. “It’s nothing major, don’t worry.” She smiled, flicking her long ponytail behind her chair as she sat. “Koda had a little outburst today and had to sit in timeout, which is a little out of character. And after naptime he had a hard time waking up. So I just wanted to make sure everything was alright at home and wondered if there was anything we could do here.” Folding her fingers together, she rested her hands on her very tidy desk.

With a half smile, Connor patted Koda’s back to let him know he wasn’t in trouble. “Yeah, I think that’s mostly our fault, we’re in the process of moving house and we took a trip up to my husband’s parents yesterday to store some furniture and didn’t get back ‘til late. But, thankyou for looking out for him.” Connor was honestly relieved that Koda was in such caring hands, it made their decision to move all that more worthwhile.

“Daddy? Can we get four cupcakes?” He asked sweetly from the backseat on the way home. “We can, but why four?” Connor replied, looking in his mirror with a puzzled smile. Flipping his hanging hair out of his eyes, Koda blinked innocently at Connor in the mirror. “One for you and one for Papa and one for me and then one for Gigi.” He explained, counting on his fingers.

They pulled into the supermarket carpark and Koda started to do an excited wiggle in his seat. He was happy because this supermarket had trolleys that he could sit in and that was his favourite part of shopping with Daddy. “Alright, up we go!” Connor cheered, lifting Koda into the orange trolley seat. As he pushed the trolley along, he tried to remember the items on the list he had made and then forgotten at home. “Well… juice of course and diapers…” While Connor was mumbling to himself, Koda’s eyes were flitting around, looking curiously at every colourful item and packaging on the shelves. Upon spotting some lit up Halloween decorations, he remembered something Connor had so far forgotten. “Oh Daddy, Papa wants some batteries.”

“Well remembered sweetie.” Connor smiled and kissed Koda’s forehead. “Do you know which sort?” Looking into Koda’s wide eyes, he could see his mind turning as he thought of his answer. “Oh! Papa wants finger ones for, uh… I forget.” Connor chuckled and gave his adorable charge a second forehead kiss. Pearce had made it easier for their boy to remember which ones he needed by comparing the AA batteries to their boys finger, something only he would think to do as a learning aid for Koda.

After paying, Connor thought it best to change Koda before the hour long drive home and took advantage of the large sized changing facilities that where common in Winterville. “Oh you’re very wet little one.” He said a little surprised, giving Koda’s bare stomach a gentle pat. “How comes you didn’t tell Daddy?” Connor could tell his little one was still quite tired from their weekend outing and was starting to feel guilty. After fastening the tapes, he pulled up Koda’s shorts and they were on their way back to the car.

Just as they pulled out of the carpark, Koda’s mood shifted and the overtired boy was feeling clingy. “Daddy? Want to cuddle.” He said softly. Whenever Koda got sleepy, the first thing he wanted to do was snuggle in either his Daddy’s or Papa’s lap, where he felt safe. “I know buddy.” Connor replied with a sympathetic smile as he kept his eyes on the traffic. “We’ll cuddle as soon as we’re home. I think Reggie is still back there, maybe he can stand in for me.”

Koda looked around the messy backseat and spotted the tail of his stuffed leopard poking out from under one of Connor’s discarded hoodies. “Hi Reggie.” The boy smiled, pressing his face against the fuzzy faux fur. A couple of monotonous miles later, when they stopped at a traffic light, Connor checked his mirrors and caught sight of Koda slumped forward in his seat. “My sleepy boy.”

When they pulled into the apartments carpark, Pearce was loading some boxes in his car, ready for the move. “There they are!” He called in a booming voice. “Shh!” Connor quietly hissed, pressing his finger to his lips and nodding towards Koda. “I’ll get the shopping.” Pearce could sense Connor wanted his moment with Koda and followed them up the stairs, poking through the stuffed shopping bags. “Ooo you remembered my batteries.”

  
  


Later that evening, after his little snooze with his Daddy, Koda was feeling quite refreshed and was adamant he wanted to help pack. “Noooo, I can pack too, I want to helllllppp!” The little ones whines got louder and more shrill, to the point that Connor couldn’t stand it. “Okay okay okay okay!” He waved his hands infront of the stomping boy as if waving a white flag. Connor set three large brown boxes in the middle of Koda’s room. “You’re in charge of the most important stuff.” He said cuddling Koda to his side. “So, you can put stuffed friends in one box, and all your toys should fit in the other two. If you need any help, Papa is right next door in our room and I’ll be in the kitchen.” Koda nodded and beamed a big happy smile up at Connor, feeling quite privileged he was being allowed to assist his daddies.

Koda took a longing look at the now empty shelves and drawers, smiling at all the love and memories his room held, before running next door. He leapt on the bed, barely making the large wooden frame creak. “Hey, there he is! Finished already sweetie?” Pearce smiled, still bent over as he gathered the scattered shoes from the floor of their closet. “Yep!” Koda cheeped happily, wrapping himself up in their king size duvet. Pearce dropped his armful of shoes on the bed as he sat and cuddled Koda, blanket and all. “Well, I think a job well done deserves a sweet reward don’t you?” Pearce leaned in and pressed a kiss to Koda’s forehead. “Go tell Daddy I said you could have two cookies.” He whispered.

“TWO?!” The excited little one, leapt from under the covers and ran towards the kitchen, leaving Pearce holding the crumpled duvet. Relaying Pearce’s words to Connor, he sat at the breakfast bar enjoying his tasty treat with a big smile on his face.

Meanwhile, Pearce had gone to check on his work and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Babe?” Calling Connor to him, he had to show him their boy’s efforts. “Yeah? What’s u-- oh.” Stopping mid-word, he stared at the overflowing, hastily filled boxes and chuckled. “Well… he tried.” Connor smiled. Koda hadn’t quite got the hang of packing, throwing everything he could get his hands on into the trio of boxes, including his duvet and pillows. “I’ll take it to our room and repack them.” Pearce said with a smile, stroking Connor’s back. “You’d better go and supervise, before he gets his hands on the kitchen china.”

  
  


When it came to Koda’s bedtime, Connor was already fast asleep, laying spread out on the sofa after his busy day at work and long evening of packing. “Come little one, it’s time for bed.” Pearce said quietly, lifting Koda carefully out of Connor’s lap. Laying his boy on the changing mat, he first untaped his yellow swollen diaper and wiped him clean. With a thick simple ultra under him, he lovingly taped it closed, watching as Koda rubbed his sleepy eyes. “Alrighty, Oooh.” Pearce lifted him up and laid him on the soft mattress, slipping Stripey under his arm and gently tucking him in. “Papa?” A soft voice called. “Yeah sweetie?” Pearce replied, smiling down at Koda and stroking his soft cheek. “Why are we mo’ing?”

“Well.” Pearce began, sitting on the end of Koda’s bed and smiling warmly at the innocent question. “It’s the next chapter of our lives together. The house is much bigger than here, it has a garden and garage and it’s a lot closer to daycare, so no more long drives. Plus more room, means more toys.” Koda’s face lit up at the mention of new toys. “But don’t tell Daddy I said that.” Seeing Koda let out a big sleepy yawn, he pressed a kiss to the top of his head and readjusted his covers, so he was extra tucked in. “Goodnight sweetie, sleep well.” As he flicked the lightswitch on the wall, the room fell into a dark but comfortable stillness and just as he pulled the door halfway closed, a quiet voice came from the comfort of the bed. “Night night Papa, luff you.” In that moment, he couldn’t understand why he was so resistant for so long, when these little moments were so perfect.

  
  


  
  


The next day was the big day and both Connor and Pearce had the day off to finish the last little bit of packing, before the truck arrived. Another little bonus was they didn’t have to make the drive to daycare as Gigi’s Dad had kindly offered to drive Koda to and from, knowing how hectic and stressful moving day’s could be. “You know, Dave really saved us a lot of hassle today. Do you think we should get him something to say thankyou?” Connor asked, folding the last of their clothes and setting them in the top of the box, before folding the flaps closed. Pearce slid up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist, holding him tight. “Already did, there’s a bottle of wine in the front room.” He whispered kissing Connor’s neck.

They had almost everything ready to go by lunchtime, with lots of teasing and flirting along the way. With the final box taped shut, Pearce pressed himself up against his lover, snaking his hands down his flat stomach. Melting into his husband’s touch, Connor turned to face him. “Mmm, I was wondering when you were going to make your move.” Both giggling like naughty teenagers, they fell on the bed, kicking the door closed as they tested the springs one last time.

  
  


At daycare, Tuesday’s were centred around the garden. They would learn about animals and plantlife and how to care for the environment by getting hands on experience. It was the easiest day of the week for Miss Lime and her team, normally keeping a bunch of little’s in line was a bit of struggle but being outside in the flourishing garden, had an amazing calming effect on the entire class.

  
  


With the couple distracted carrying furniture and box after box to the huge moving lorry, they didn’t notice Dave pulling up nearby with their excited boy on board. Koda sped down the path with a huge grin on his face. “Daddyyyy! Papaa!” He called loudly, his voice jolting with each step. “There’s my boy!” Connor held his arms out, having set his box down and caught the speeding little as he slammed into his larger frame. “How was your day cutie?”

Pearce ruffled Koda’s hair as he passed by, on his way to speak to Dave. “Hey Gigi.” He smiled, first waving to the frizzy haired girl. “We really appreciate you driving Koda today Dave, it was really kind of you.” Pearce gave him a nod of appreciation as he leant on the car door.

Nudging his glasses up his nose, the spiky haired man smiled and waved Pearce’s comment off. “Ah don’t mention it.” Dave was all too happy to help out and truth being told it only took him half an hour out of his way as he was taking Gigi to dance practice. “Well we got you a little thankyou.” Pearce reached in and handed Dave the bottle of La Scolca Black Label Gavi dei Gavi, a white wine that both he and Connor counted as a favourite. “Ooo what do we have here?” Dave sucked in a breath and examined the glass bottle.

Connor had to speak with the removal men as they finished loading the truck and finalised there preparations for leaving. Koda bounced over to Pearce, who wrapped his arms around him as he cuddled into his chest. “Hey buddy, what do you say to Mr Bergen?” Pearce said, prompting his cuddly boy. “Thankyou for driving me hooome. Oh and the morning too!” Koda said peeking in the window before cuddling up to Pearce once again.

A few moments after Dave and Gigi headed off, Connor shoved an armful of cushions on the top of the boxes. “That’s the last of it.” He told the lorry driver, leaving him to pull down the shutter and lock it securely closed. “Daddy? Are we going now?” Koda asked, watching the shuddering metal slide down, sealing their belongings safely inside. “In a minute yeah. We need to get you changed first and lock up.”

Koda headed through the door of the echoey apartment and sped down the hallway to his room. His wide dark orbs scanned the bare walls, looking at where his possessions once stood and found it hard to picture. “It’s alright Sweetie.” Pearce said, stroking his shoulders. “Your new room is going to be even better.” Koda gave him a half smile, wanting to believe his Papa, but seeing the empty room brought the anxious feelings crashing down upon him. Pearce noticed how subdued their boy had become as he dotingly changed him into a dry diaper. Pulling the hidden paci from the pocket of the diaper bag, he offered it to Koda, suspecting he needed a little comfort.

In the kitchen, Connor finished a cool drink of water and turned to see Pearce holding their boy in his arms. “Everything okay?” He asked with a hint of concern. “We are ready to go Captain!” Pearce bellowed, saluting and clicking his heels together. Connor and Koda burst out a loud giggle at their silly man, before huddling together for a brief cuddle, the last in their old home.

Koda watched out the window from his seat in Connor’s car, as Pearce spoke to the grizzly looking driver of the enormous white removal lorry. The couple had been very busy and had already been to the new house to set up something especially for Koda. With all the unloading to be done, they had taken Pearce’s car earlier in the day and set up their entertainment system along with a playpen to keep Koda safe while they would be busy carrying in the furniture. “Okay he’s going to follow us.” Pearce said, climbing into the passenger seat. “Ready little one?” He grinned, looking back at Koda, who had Stripey, Reggie and the raggedy Bear Pearce’s mum had made especially for him, tucked in his arms. “Ready.” He replied quietly, with his paci comfortably in his mouth.

Throughout the journey, Koda kept peering back at the lorry, checking to see it was still close behind, even though it was a little daunting having such a large truck following them along. Arriving at their new home, Koda looked out his window at the house and because the sun was low in the sky, to him, it gave the house a halo like glow. “Wow.” He breathed, his innocent wide eyes gleaming.

Pearce smiled, putting his arm around the stunned boy. “Let’s get you inside little one.” Walking Koda inside, Pearce saw him look curiously around at the vast empty spaces. “We set something fun up for you.” He said, steering him to the TV and brand new playpen they had ready for him. “But Papa, I can help carry boxes wif you.” Even though Koda had offered to help, Pearce could see the first signs he was started to get tired and knew while it would be quite cute to have their boy help, he would hinder their progress and they had an incredible amount to do. “That’s okay sweetie. You rest for now, we will need your help later on.” Pearce lifted Koda into the playpen, where the controls and comfy cushions were waiting for him and gave him a sweet kiss. Just before he got outside, Pearce smirked to himself, hearing the familiar tune of Paw Patrol coming from the TV.

With three strong men unloading, the truck was empty after just an hour and a half, though their house was now packed to the rafters. They sent the driver off with their thanks and closed their new front door, making it begin to feel like they were officially moved in as a family. “I don’t know about you but I could do with a drink before we start on putting the beds together.” Connor said wiping the sweat from his brow. “Mmm I was thinking the exact same thing.” Pearce chuckled, remembering the frosty beers chilling in the fridge.

Taking their cold refreshing drinks into the living room, they found their boy snoozing on his belly and were immediately drawn to the fact he was in desperate need of a change. “I’ll get the diaper bag.” Pearce said quickly turning on his heel. “Why do I have to be the one to disturb his sleep?” Connor hissed back, folding his arms at his disappearing husband, who then poked his head back around the doorframe and stuck his tongue out. “Sweetie, you need a change little one.” His soft voice helped soothe Koda as he came out of his slumber. Connor laid the wobbly boy down on his back, just as Pearce came back into the room with Koda’s bag. Rubbing the sticky sleep from his eyes, Koda blinked up at his loving big’s as Connor worked on cleaning him up. “I can help now I’m not s’eepy anymore, right?” The eager little one asked hopefully.

“Sure you can!” Pearce grinned. “Me and Con- uh Daddy, were about to make a start on your room.” Connor looked up at Pearce with a smirk. “Yeah, Papa is going to build your bed, while we unpack your toys.” He said with a smug look, getting his own back on his cheeky husband. Pearce chuckled and shook his head, knowing he had been bested.


	3. Worry and Recovery

A week after moving in, the unpacking was almost finished, with only a few unimportant boxes shoved aside for a rainy day. There was some good news for one member of the little family, after returning to work, Pearce had been given an important promotion meant for another colleague who had surprisingly up and quit. Not only had it given him more power and responsibility in a job he loved, but also bumped his salary up to a substantially attractive figure.

Unfortunately, Pearce’s promotion meant lots of training and a few late finishes as he climbed higher on the company’s ladder. While both he and Connor agreed the lateness wasn’t an issue for a couple of nights, Koda had a different opinion. “No, I’ll wait ‘bit longer.” The sleepy boy’s bedtime had been and gone, but Pearce wasn’t home and he was refusing to go to sleep until he knew his Papa was home safe. “Koda, you’re going to get overtired. It’s time for bed now.” Connor, tried reasoning with the persistent little but he wasn’t having any of it, like a storm closing in, there was a palpable tension in the air and then in slow motion Connor watched Koda’s lower lip begin to wobble and his eyes squint. ‘Oh shit’ He thought to himself.

“Waaaahaahaaaaa!” Koda wailed out, rolling onto his side to face away from the room as Connor sat down beside him and tried in vain to control the tantrum. “Daddyyyy, noo! I don’t wanna yeeeet!” Burying his face in the cushions, Koda’s mind was foggy and all he knew was he wanted his Papa. “Ooh Koda.” Connor stroked his boy’s head and slipped his phone out of his pocket.

“Hey you, how’s your eve- Is that Koda??” After answering, Pearce was shocked to hear the crying on the other end of the line. Connor tapped on the video option and gave Pearce an exhausted look as he explained what was happening. “Oh Koda…” Pearce rubbed the dull ache in his eye and readjusted his phone screen. “Put him on Babe.”

“Sweetie, talk to Papa.” Koda appeared on the screen looking incredibly upset, with tears streaming down his cheeks as he cried and gulped in a breath. “Papa! Aaahaaaa!” The sight and sound of Koda’s distress, hurt Pearce’s heart. “Oh little one, what’s wrong?”

“I- I don’ wan’ go s’eep ‘fore you come hoooommme.” Koda’s voice was very croaky as he tried to convey why he was upset. “Okay, I want you to listen now Sweetie.” Pearce said in a clear calm voice, watching the screen to make sure Koda paid attention. “You must listen to Daddy, he is right, you need to go to bed.” But with a whimpering sound coming over the phone, Koda started to cry louder. “No tears little one, listen to me.” Pearce waited for Koda to settle as Connor wiped the boys tears and cuddled him into his side. “I am getting in the car and coming home. Go with Daddy and I’ll see you very soon okay?”

Connor took the phone off of video and held it to his ear, so he could talk to his husband a little more privately. “I know Babe, I was thinking the same thing… Being tired isn’t helping… I think he will… Yeah just give him time… Alright see you shortly, love you.” Connor held the phone up to the still weeping boy and asked him to say bye. “Love you Papa.” He sniffled, rubbing his nose.

Taking Koda upstairs, Connor first changed his diaper, which after his tantrum was as wet as his eyes, before popping a paci into his mouth. The warm glow of his adorable cat nightlight, bathed the room in a comforting orange. It was still a work in progress, but Koda loved his new safe haven. “Daddy?” He sniffled, rubbing his tired and puffy, red eyes. “Are you ang’y with me?” In his sleepy haze, Koda’s mind was trying to convince him he was no longer wanted, but Connor’s loving embrace, pushed the truth through to prevail. “No Sweetie.” He smiled. “Come, let’s have a cuddle.”

Being so late, the roads were almost completely empty on Pearce’s journey home and quietly heading inside, he made his way straight upstairs to the glowing light coming from Koda’s room. Inside, he found their boy snuggled up on Connor’s lap, now calm and almost asleep. “Papa.” He called in a sleepy croak, reaching out to him. “Hi.” Pearce grinned, lifting the grouchy boy into his strong arms. “Are you doing okay little one?”

“I’m bit s’eepy.” He said softly, laying his head on Pearce’s shoulder. “I bet. Let’s get you in bed buddy.” Without any resistance, Pearce laid Koda in his comfy bed and tucked him into his Paw Patrol duvet. Before they had even left the room, Koda was out like a light.

Connor dropped onto the end of their bed and let out an exhausted sigh. “Poor boy, I didn’t know he would be so upset. I’ll make sure I’m home earlier tomorrow.” Pearce said pulling off his tie. “I’ve never seen him like that before.” Connor breathed, laying flat on the bed. Pearce could hear the sadness sticking in his lover’s throat and slowly laid next to him. “He’s just stressed from the move Babe, he’ll be okay. We just need to show him a little extra love and attention for a bit.” He stroked through Connor’s messy hair, brushing his worry away with each stroke. “It can’t be easy for him. All these brand new changes in his life, it’s a lot to deal with for a little guy.” Pearce’s reassurance was, as always, just what he needed to hear.

Connor turned his head, giving his level headed husband a relaxed smile. “This is why I married you, your ability to defuse my worries like that.” He smiled, snapping his fingers. “Not my incredible body?” Pearce smirked at his own joke before he had even finishing saying it. “Well okay, that _and_ your body.” Connor restated, rolling his eyes, almost loud enough for his husband to hear.

That night Pearce fell asleep feeling like superman, having defused a very sulky boy and his fretting husband, he was then treated to a wonderfully cooked meal and some special time with his man, before finally falling into the new luxury bedding. The house remained calm and still as all three slept soundly, but unfortunately the serenity didn’t last long.

Connor’s heavy eyes flickered, hearing a faint sniffing coming closer. “Koda?” His tired, crackling voice called quietly. Focusing his vision, he saw the drowsy boy stumbling towards him. “Da-ddy I had’a bad dream.” The little one mumbled, rubbing his sleepy eyes and still clutching onto his new favourite bear, Ludlow. “Aww baby, are you okay?” Connor eased himself out of bed and put a protective arm around Koda as the quiet boy nodded. “Let’s get you changed sweetie.” He whispered, stroking his back.

In his new room, Koda had a much bigger space and as a result had enough room for his own changing table. He had his comfy bed from his old room against the back wall as before, now with a large toybox and stuffed toy hammock at the end. A new wardrobe, with matching drawers and a dresser sat along the right hand side, adored with cute toys painted on the fair wood. In the left corner, was the carefully crafted changing table with a custom cushioned top that had Koda’s name on the headrest. The large cubed storage underneath held his stacks of diapers neatly, along with his powder and many packs of baby wipes.

Lifting Koda onto the plastic cushioned top, Connor glanced over at his bed. The blanket was strew across the floor and the sheet had been pulled off of one corner, in his tumultuous slumber he had tossed and turned like a ship in a storm. “Oh Koda…” Connor whispered to himself as he changed his boy’s soggy diaper, another casualty of his bad dream. Even in his sleep deprived state, Connor made quick work of getting Koda into a fresh diaper. Looking down at his very tired boy, he gave him a sympathetic smile as he rubbed his stinging eyes and clutched his bear in a loose grip. “Come on sweetie, you can sleep in our bed.” Connor didn’t mind getting up to change Koda, but he was too drained to be re-making his bed.

Koda was a bit nervous climbing into the king size bed, but his need for sleep soon overruled his anxieties. With Pearce still fast asleep on his side, Koda lay in the middle, nuzzled up against Connor as they soon drifted off once more.

In the morning, surprised to find his boy in his bed, Pearce rolled over with a smile and pulled Koda into an early morning snuggle. Connor flicked off their alarm and peered over at Pearce, giving him a smile and a wink. Pearce blew a silent kiss and nodded towards the door, hinting they should leave Koda sleeping for a while longer.

Sneaking out of their room, they wrapped each other in a smooching cuddle. “Mornin’ beautiful.” Pearce’s deep voice burbled quietly in his lovers ear. “Mmm, good morning.” Feeling Pearce’s hands roam down his back and caress his rear, Connor smirked and whispered into his husbands ear. “Wanna shower with me?” Without needing to hear his answer, he took Pearce by the hand and led him into the family bathroom.

“Aaaah, well that was the perfect start to my day.” Pearce grinned, rubbing the fluffy towel over his head. “So, my cuddle buddy?” He hinted, referring to Koda’s surprise appearance. “Oh, yeah.” Connor chuckled, flossing his teeth in the mirror. “Poor thing had a bad dream, so I invited him to sleep with us.”

Pearce thought for a moment about Koda and hoped the stresses he was under would soon fade. “I’m going to go wake him up.” He said softly, patting Connor’s shoulder on his way back to their bedroom. Koda was still comfortably sleeping, curled up in the fetal position, in the very centre of their big bed. “Kodaaaaa~” Pearce sung softly. He slowly laid next to the sleepy boy as he let out a little groan and wrapped his arms around him. “Wakey wakey sleepy boy.” Ever so slowly his dark deep brown eyes opened and he smiled. “Hi Papa.” Koda whispered. “Good morning buddy, did you sleep well?” Pearce asked, getting a sleepy cuddle from his boy. “I had’a scary dream.”

Pearce stretched and helped Koda to his feet because it was time for his morning change. “You did? Oh no, do you remember what it was about?” He was hoping to find some meaning in his little ones nightmare. Rubbing his eye, Koda clutched onto Ludlow and took Pearce’s hand as they walked to his room. “Um… I was in a big dark house with lots of rooms, but I didn’t know where it was. An’ I couldn’t find you or Daddy an’ Ludlow fell down the stairs and I couldn’t get him.”

Pearce swooped him onto the changing table, listening to his explanation. “Oh that does sound scary. But luckily that’s not real is it? And when you woke up, you came and found us really quickly didn’t you?” He said, prompting Koda to nod in reply. Pearce wanted to drive home the fact that his nightmare was just a dream and that he and Connor were available anytime he needed them.

It was the middle of the week and at daycare it was literacy and numeracy day, where they helped the littles learn in a fun and structured way. While most were focused on their learning, Koda found himself thinking about his missing mentor.

At the end of the day, he popped up from his seat and gently tugged on his teachers shirt. “Yes Koda?” The large woman said with a smile, her long flowing ponytail swaying behind her as she turned to face her student. “I really liked the lesson today! I think you are even better at teaching me than JJ!” He grinned, before bounding off to get his backpack. “Well thankyou very much.” Miss Lime said, appreciating the praise, though she was left with a bunch of questions about Koda’s statement.

Pearce was waiting by his car ready and waved Koda over as the speedy little burst out of the open doors. “Hey buddy!” He beamed, hugging him tight. “Did you have a good day?” Pearce smooched his forehead and buckled Koda into his seat as the chatty boy relayed everything that happened. “Papa? I miss JJ.” Koda said when they were almost home. “You miss JJ? Well, we can message him and find out when he’s free. I’m sure he misses you too.” He said, gazing at him in his rear view mirror.

In the evening, after an incredibly tasty Chinese dinner cooked by Connor, the married couple cuddled up together on the sofa to watch an episode of a new show they had discovered on Netflix, The Fall, when Pearce’s phone rang. “Heyyy! How are you doing?… Oh yeah?… Wow, that’s great...” Koda was laying on his belly on his playmat, racing his toy cars around, but his head shot up hearing JJ’s name. “Papa! Can I speak to him?!”

Koda scrambled to his feet and took the outstretched phone from his Papa, then plonked himself down on his rear at his daddies feet and chatted for almost half an hour, telling JJ all about his daycare and the new friends he had made and of course about their fantastic new home too. Though it was mostly a one sided conversation, due to Koda being so excited, JJ did manage to explain he had been away on a long work trip, but would be returning sometime in the next couple of weeks and promised Koda would be first on his list to visit.

Koda eventually passed the phone over to Connor with a huge smile, beaming that he had got to speak to JJ after many weeks. The happy little boy was feeling warm and fuzzy inside and a little sleepy as he looked to Pearce. “Papa, can I have cuddles please?” He asked sweetly, slipping his thumb into his mouth. “Phroooaar!” Pearce jokingly groaned, stretching his big strong arms down to lift his little one into his lap.

A few hours later, it was Connor’s turn to read Koda a bedtime story and tuck the snuggly boy into bed. But without meaning to, he hurried through the story noticeably quicker than normal, because he wanted to speak to Pearce about something JJ had said. Luckily for Connor though, Koda was so tired, the speedy read went unnoticed and he soon fell soundly asleep.

Connor crept out of the room and almost ran down the stairs to his husband. “Woah, speedy.” Pearce chuckled, practically catching him as he fell onto the sofa. “Did JJ mention anything to you?” Connor spat out in a rush, with slightly widened eyes. “Have you been holding that in the whole time?” Pearce smirked, glancing at him. “Well… Yeah, I didn’t want to say anything infront of Koda, because he was kind of cagey about what he wanted.” Pearce hugged his bundle of nerves and let out a brief sigh. “Don’t worry, he just said he had something to run by us. He probably found a holiday spot again, remember when he took us to Corfu? Hm? And that night we went for a midnight swim…” Pearce hinted, lowering his voice. The memory of that passionate night sparked his arousal as he pulled Connor’s body against his. Connor grinned sharing that same memory and pressed his lips to his lovers.

Friday evening, Pearce had picked up Koda from daycare and whisked him back home before Connor, which could only mean one thing. And sure enough, while Pearce and Koda sat on the sofa watching cartoons, Connor rumbled through the front door in a cloud of anger and sadness, muttering to himself. “Wait here for me sweetie.” Pearce whispered to Koda, leaning forward to kiss his forehead as he went to comfort his husband. The feeling of pure frustration had Connor almost in tears as Pearce pulling him swiftly into their large kitchen and wrapped him in a big protective bear hug. “It’s okay babe. Let it out.” Holding Connor’s head, he felt the few wet droplets soak into his shirt as he finally relieved the horrible feelings that had built throughout the day.

In Pearce’s embrace, Connor relayed the events that had led him to feel this way until a small hand tugged on his shirt, taking him by surprise. “Daddy?” Koda knew something was wrong and had crept in without either of them noticing. “I’m okay little one.” Connor put on a smile as he uncoupled himself from Pearce’s comfort and hugged their worried boy. “I’m just going to freshen up and get out of these clothes.” Heading upstairs, Connor wiped a lingering tear from his eye, wanting to keep his troubles from Koda.

“Papa? Daddy’s sad.” Koda said, looking very worried look. Pearce gave him a sympathetic smile and lifted him into his arms. “He just had a bad day at work so he’s a little upset.” He explained. “I think, when he comes down, he would really like some cuddles from his favourite boy.” Pearce saw the worry fade from Koda’s wide eyes and turn to determination, he had been tasked to make his Daddy happy again and that’s just what he was going to do. “Good boy.”

The second Connor’s foot touched down on the carpeted floor, Koda appeared and gave him a sweet hug. “Oooh, there’s my boy.” They settled on the sofa with Koda laying back in Connor’s lap, while he stroked his hand through his boy’s straight black hair. Pearce had brought in drinks and snacks for the two so Connor could simply lay back, relax and forget his horrible day.

After dinner, Connor was back on the sofa with his cuddle buddy, sewing the hem of another creation for Koda. Pearce stared at Connor stroking his lower lip as his wheels were turning. “Babe, why don’t you leave that job?” He said with purpose. Smiling at his man and knowing what he was trying to do, Connor was grateful. “I want to, don’t get me wrong and I know you’re looking out for me, but we _just_ brought a house. I can’t afford to be jobless right now.” Connor sighed. As attractive as that option was, it just didn’t seem feasible. “Plus, what would I even move on to?”

“Why don’t you launch a clothing line or something? You hate that place, it’s not worth all the hassle.” Pearce’s suggestion, caught the attention of his partner like a lightning bolt sparking his curiosity. “You love making Koda clothes and designing them, why don’t you make your own ABDL clothes?”

“That… actually sounds perfect.” Connor sat thinking hard for a moment before shaking his head with a half smile. “But babe, we have mortgage payments. I don’t think I can just qu-” Connor was cut off by Koda sitting up in his lap and giving him a pleading look. “I don’t want you to go to work and get sad.” He then laid his head on Connor’s chest and cuddled him sweetly, while Pearce added his approving nod.

At bedtime, after storytime and after Pearce had changed Koda into a fresh diaper, he helped him into a comfy onesie, popping the snaps closed and handed him his paci. The sleepy boy stood rubbing his eye, while his Papa pulled back the covers for him. “Goodnight little one, sweet dreams.” Pearce said softly in his deep burbling voice, kissing his forehead. “Papa?” He said quietly, calling him back. “Yeah buddy?” As he leant down, Koda whispered into his ear and gently pushed Stripey into his hands.

Standing in the doorway to their room, Pearce was blushing and gushing as he covered his mouth with his hand. “What happened?” Connor asked with a smirk. Pearce strolled slowly into the room, revealing the small tiger in his hand and sat next to Connor, grinning like the Cheshire cat. “Koda wanted you to have Stripey tonight, incase you feel sad and he can’t cuddle you better, because he is dreaming… his exact words.” Together they were bursting with overwhelming affection as their faces contorted with exaggerated frowns turning to great wide smiles. “He’s so cute, I can’t even find the words.” Connor chuckled falling back onto the soft pillows.

As they laid in bed with the TV’s flickering, illuminating the room, Pearce couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “You know, he really loves us.” He said quietly, holding Connor close. “I’m so glad we found him.”

The next day, Connor spent the morning writing and rewriting his resignation letter at the kitchen table, while Koda sat opposite with his colouring book. The little one could sense Connor was still feeling upset as he made small disapproving noises at what he was writing and wanted to stay close by.

Pearce had been setting up Koda’s playpen on the freshly de-weeded patio, so he could keep an eye on him as he mowed and tidied the overgrown garden. “Babe? I’m going to head out.” Connor called out, waving to Pearce after he set Koda in amongst his waiting toys. First patting Koda’s soft hair, Pearce embraced his nervous husband and whispered into his ear. “Call me if anything happens and I’ll come running.” He paused for a moment and looked into Connor’s eyes as he rubbed his arms. “You’ve got this.” With a kiss goodbye to both his boys, Connor took a deep breath and started his car engine, heading off to end a very big, very troublesome chapter of his life.

With his paci bobbing away, Koda sat happily playing with his cuddly friends and toys, creating an elaborate quest for them, the raggedy bear had lost his story book and it was up to them all to find it for him. “Dun dun duh duh duh.” The little one hummed, bouncing Stripey along the cushion.

While keeping one eye on his boy, Pearce fought with the unkept lawn, hacking the tall grass down to a manageable length and piling it in the back corner of their garden. His sweat sheen glistened in the sun as Pearce looked out at a job well done, nodding approvingly at his huge progress. “Time for a drink I think.” He said to himself, in a sing song voice. He checked Koda’s sippy cup, before heading inside to pour himself a cool glass of orange juice.

“Papa?” Koda called out, peeking over the playpen’s walls. Seeing Pearce heading towards him with a big smile, he held his arms above his head. “Can we have lunchtime?” He asked, blinking his bright eyes up at him.

Pearce whisked the hungry boy out of his playpen and zoomed him into the kitchen, sitting him at the breakfast bar. “Okay my hungry boy, what do we fancy today?” Pearce bit his lip as he tried not to smirk at Koda’s cute thinking face. “PB&J pleeeease!” He decided cheerily, raising his hand up to the sky.

In no time, Pearce presented the neatly cut, four triangles to his eager boy. “Yummy! Thankyou!” He cheeped, grabbing a section and taking a big bite. Sipping his freshly brewed coffee, Pearce smiled watching Koda enjoy his lunch, choosing to wait to eat when Connor was back. A few minutes later and with an empty plate infront of him, Koda wiggled his fingers out infront of him. “Sch-icky.” The satisfied little said, asking in his own way for help cleaning up.

Koda was safely deposited back into his playpen and Pearce picked up where he left off, eager to finish his gardening while the sun was still out. Koda watched Pearce for a few minutes, waiting for him to look over to him before he waved. “Can ‘have a change p’ease?” He asked, lisping around his paci. “Of course buddy.” The large man winked, but his happy grin was soon wiped away as he lifted him up and the stinky smell wafted into his nose. “Oh…”

Cleaning Koda up, he could see the little one was starting to get drowsy as his naptime closed in. However he knew from past experience that Koda would not want to nap until he knew Connor was home safe. He put Koda in a fresh white diaper and with him getting sleepier by the minute, decided it would be best to have a cuddle break for a while. “Ooo, up we go.” Pearce lifted Koda into his arms and took him downstairs.

Luckily for the increasing sleepy boy, they had only been cuddling for a few minutes when Connor returned. Walking through the front door his demeanour was much different than when he left as if a mighty weight had been lifted. Connor held his head high and walked with a distinct spring in his step. “Aw! Look at my two favourite boys.” He said cheerfully.

Pearce’s face lit up at seeing his husband back to his happy self. “I take it, it went well?” He asked, already knowing the answer. “It was fantastic, I got it all off my chest, I told my boss all the problems with his company and told my supervisor exactly what I thought of him and I said, if you keep treating people the way you do, expect a mass exodus.” Connor’s beaming grin, was better than Pearce had hoped for. With a shy smirk, he silently nodding to the boy, who by now was almost asleep in Pearce’s lap. “Hey sweetie, you ready for naptime?” Connor asked in a soft voice, patting Koda’s jet black hair.

He carried the sleepy little upstairs to his room and laid him down on the comfy bedding. “Are you feeling more happy Daddy?” Koda asked, looking up with his deep eyes. Connor found the innocent question so sweet that it got him a little choked up. “I’m always happy when you’re around little one.” He leant forward and pressed a kiss to his boy’s forehead. “Sleep well baby.”

  
  


  
  


Over the next couple of weeks, Connor settled into his new routine of working on his clothing at home. He enrolled in an online course that gave him the skills to set up his own website, advertise his products and everything that came with the making and ordering process. The information was a lot to take in and his new path was a major career jump for Connor, but even though it was hard work, he enjoyed every minute. Pearce and Koda saw an immediate change too, Connor was infinitely happier and they both benefited from his vibrant, upbeat demeanour.

Koda got a little sense of importance too, he voluntarily became Connor’s model and felt proud showing off his Daddy’s creations. Focusing on ABDL clothes, Connor made onesies, tshirts, shorts, sleepers, dresses and pyjamas with cute prints and designs, mostly of his own creation. His positive attitude helped drive his vision forward at a swift pace, he found a printing company within his price range that was able to ship rolls of fabric right to his door in a few short weeks.

Unsurprisingly the buzz around daycare led to Connors first dozen orders and with everything being handmade, he had his work cut out. But after two perfect weeks, life was about to throw them a curveball.

With a hint of concern, Connor pressed the back of his hand against Koda’s forehead. “Ooh baby, you’re burning up.” Koda had started feeling a bit unwell Sunday night, but didn’t want to mention it because he didn’t want to miss daycare. “I’ll be okay.” The little one lied, covering his mouth as a forceful cough jolted his slim frame. “It looks like you’re staying home with Daddy little one.” As Connor called out for Pearce to ring ahead and let them know Koda would be staying home, the little one was processing the fact he was going to miss his beloved daycare.

After his night of troubled sleep and with the illness weakening him, he was feeling quite delicate. He thought of his friends and all the fun things they were going to get up to without him and his lower lip started to quiver. Koda bowed his head as the watery droplets started to drip from his eyes. Connor sat on the end of Koda’s bed, next to the weepy boy and gently hugged him. “I know you’re upset Sweetie, but we need to get you better okay? And if we let you go to daycare, all your friends might get sick too and that’s not fair is it?” Connor lifted the sad boys chin slowly to meet his gaze and gave him a comforting smile. “Let’s get you into some comfy clothes and we’ll go see Papa before he goes to work.”

Connor swiftly disposed of his boy’s soggy overnight protection and cleaned him up, again noticing the heat radiating from Koda’s skin. Even though he wasn’t showing it, it was clear his little boy was very unwell. Adding extra powder for comfort, Connor taped Koda’s thick diaper closed and gently sat him upright. “There’s a good boy.” He smiled, wiping a stray tear from Koda’s cheek.

Now dressed in a footed sleeper, Koda slowly made his way downstairs to see his Papa. The full force of the illness was beginning to show itself, slowing the usually speedy boy and making his every move ache. “Papa?” He called, having only made it to the bottom of the stairs before feeling dizzy and dropping onto his rear. Pearce made his way out of the kitchen, fiddling with his tie and found his boy sat looking up at him. “Hey buddy, are you doing okay?”

He helped Koda to the kitchen where he had the cold and flu medicine set out ready for him, with a cool glass of water. “It’ll help you fight off those sniffles little one.” Pearce watched on as Koda swallowed the tablets, giving him an approving nod and patting his soft hair. When Connor joined them Pearce took his husband into his arms and kissed him goodbye. “I have to get going, but I will video you at lunchtime okay? Feel better Koda.” He smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of Koda’s head.

“Shall we have some breakfast Sweetie?” Connor smiled, already looking through the cupboards at the cereal. “No fankyou.” Koda replied quietly, laying his head on his bear on the counter top and sniffing repeatedly. Koda was not one to complain, even if he was feeling rough, but Connor could tell how weak his boy was. Deciding to forego breakfast for now, Connor made Koda a cosy little nest on the sofa, laying down a soft blanket as the base, then piled pillows on each side and positioned different soft toys around within arms reach. Finally a second blanket was on hand to cover Koda once he was nestled in his specially made den. “There, nice and cosy.” Connor said with a wink, tucking the blanket in snugly and handing him his paci, a bottle of juice and the TV controls. “Make sure you drink lots okay?”

As Connor straightened up, Koda gave him a worried look. “Don’t go!” He squeaked, feeling needy. Connor smiled and winked, having already planned his day around Koda as he was changing him earlier. “I’m just grabbing my things Sweetie, I’m going to be working right here with you.” Connor’s assurances instantly settled Koda’s anxiety, allowing him to snuggle in his safe den. With the TV turned to Koda’s favourite cartoon channel, he watched his Daddy laying out the materials and templates he had made in a neat order. The tablets soon began to kick in, relieving the aches and pains and allowing Koda to breath more easily. Content with knowing Connor was close by and with all the comforts surrounding him, Koda soon began to snooze.

Without realising, Connor quietly hummed along to the songs on Koda’s cartoons as he sliced his material to size and set about sewing the cute shirts together. It was a while before he noticed Koda had fallen asleep as he took a break to grab himself a drink. Standing in the doorway, he sipped his coffee and watched on with a smile, happy Koda was getting some much needed rest.

But less than an hour after falling asleep, Koda abruptly sat up coughing and spluttering harshly. “Oh!” Connor dropped his work and rushed over to check on the scrunched up boy. “Oh, are you alright little one?” He asked, rubbing his back soothingly. Koda nodded as he wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve and sucked in a clear breath, blinking his eyes awake.

Connor kept Koda warm and comfortable all day, making sure he drank and tried to eat a little food, but by the time Pearce returned from work, things weren’t any better, in fact if anything he seemed to be getting worse. Laid out in his nest, Koda had a thick blanket covering him and a cool cloth on his forehead to try to cool his fever, which burned strongly. While he dozed, his teeth chattered together and he shivered as his slim body was ravaged by the sickness that now had a strong hold on him. “He’s really struggling.” Connor whispered, his voice laden with worry. “I know you don’t want to hear this babe, but if he gets any worse, we might have to take him to hospital.” Pearce said, vocalizing what they were both thinking but too afraid to admit as he rubbed his husband’s shoulders supportively.

“I’m going to stay up with him tonight.” Connor stated. “I won’t be able to sleep for worry anyway.” Pearce had already anticipated this, smiling at his caring partner. “Go grab a few hours, I’ll look after him.” He said with a wink, before giving him a kiss and sending him upstairs. Connor chuckled to himself as he quietly climbed the staircase, knowing it was useless trying to fight his stubborn lover on this.

The sky had darkened and the house was still as Connor woke from his few blissful hours of sleep. He headed into the bathroom, quietly padding on the plush carpet, to freshen up before creeping down to the kitchen, where he found Pearce rifling through the fridge. “Hey you, how is he?” He asked, greeting him with a kiss and brief squeeze.

Leaned back against the counter, Pearce let out a little sigh. “His fever is still really high and he must ache all over, but he hasn’t complained once. He’s asleep right now, but he really is a tough little boy.” He gave Connor a look of disbelief, shocked at the lack of whining or grumbling from their sick boy. “Poor thing stopped shivering briefly and managed half a piece of toast, but he’s still so weak.” Connor put his hand on his chest, feeling a flutter in his heart hearing about his poor soldier.

While Connor set about making the pair a frittata for dinner, Pearce smirked remembering something Koda had said earlier. “He was worried he disturbed you working today and asked if tomorrow he should stay in bed so you can get some work done.” Pearce chuckled, watching as Connor cooed and bit his lip at Koda’s unbelievably cute remark.

They ate in living room, sitting across from the nesting little and quietly chatted. Between them they agreed they would take Koda to bed, when Pearce turned in and reconvene in the morning before he went to work to see if his condition had improved. The quiet TV flickered, bathing the cuddling couple in dull flashes of light.

“Daddy? Papa?” Koda called quietly, opening his burning eyelids. Connor sat up and leant forward in a hurry. “Yeah sweetie, we’re here.” Koda swallowed hard and as the colour drained from his face, his stomach churned. “I’m go’a be sick!” Then, before either man had a chance to react, Koda lurched forward and retched powerfully. The horrid sound, mixed with the stomach turning smell was difficult to ignore, especially for Connor who it affected strongly. “Babe, please… you’re going to have to… I… can’t…” Turning his head away, Connor covered his mouth as he fought off the urge building inside. He struggled with sick at the best of times, but not long having eaten, he was finding it extremely hard, luckily his iron stomached husband was on hand to help out. “I got him, don’t worry.” Pearce said, patting his knee. “It’s okay little one.” He stroked Koda’s hair and wiped a tear from the boy’s cheek. “Oh dear, you poor thing. Papa will get you cleaned up.”

Trying hard not to cry, Koda was feeling incredibly weak and vulnerable, holding tightly to his caring Papa. “S… sorry Pa-pa.” He managed to say as Pearce scooped him up. “No no no, there’s no need to be sorry sweetie. You can’t help being sicky.” He swiftly stripped Koda’s sleeper off, dumping it straight in a plastic bag to separate it from the other washing and sat the wobbly boy on the side of the bath, so he could gently wipe him clean with his soft sponge. Pearce supported Koda with a strong hand on his back and after he had cleaned him up, he noted his flickering tired eyes and decided it was time to put him to bed.

“Babe?” Pearce called out from the top of the stairs, listening for a reply. But not getting one, he called again, this time louder. “Con!?” The blonde then appeared, hurrying into view. “I think it’s time to put him to bed.” He said, stroking Koda’s back as he huddled against his chest.

Giving his husband a nod, Connor gathered the things he needed for his night on watch with his poorly little. With his snacks, drinks and tablet in hand, he headed upstairs. It was going to be a long anxious night, but Connor needed to be right by Koda’s side. Pearce had finished changing the boys soaked diaper and was searching for his pyjamas when Connor joined them. “Poor baby.” He said softly stroking Koda’s hair as the little sniffed and coughed forcefully.

When they had dressed and put Koda to bed, Pearce and Connor cuddled and kissed at the bedroom door, before Connor then settled down in the cosy armchair by the foot of Koda’s bed. “Daddy?” Koda whispered, wondering what was happening. “I’m going to stay here tonight little one, just incase you need me.” Connor replied with a sweet loving smile. While he didn’t want to be a bother, it was a great comfort to have his Daddy close by, when he felt so ill. “Will Papa miss you?” Connor covered his mouth at the incredibly sweet question, before reassuring his adorable boy that Pearce would be just fine.

The night started well and Koda managed to get almost two hours of peaceful rest, all the while still sniffling and coughing, but as the clock closed in on midnight Koda was forced to sit up, coughing and spluttering. Connor flew into action, setting his tablet down and kneeling next to the boy’s bed. “There there, you’re okay sweetie.” He whispered, rubbing Koda’s back. “I’m rea’y cold.” Koda said quietly, his whole body shivering. “I know baby, but you already have two thick blankets on.” Connor could feel the little ones fever raging, when he stroked his back and knew he was suffering.

Koda managed to fall back asleep, but it was again short lived. His stomach churned, his muscles ached and his sinuses were constantly blocked. “Da-ddy.” Koda blubbered, reaching out. “I’ve got you baby.” Connor lifted him out of bed and snuggled him in his lap. “I know, it’s okay.” He whispered, stroking Koda’s hair as the boy weeped. “Time to take some medicine baby, it should help you get some rest.” After Koda managed to swallow the brightly coloured capsules, Connor checked his diaper and found him quite damp. He slowly laid him back on the cushioned table and got to work. The poor boy’s skin was on fire, whatever illness he had contracted was raging a war inside him. By the time Connor had slowly got him into a dry diaper, the tablets were starting to work, gifting Koda a brief respite from his aches.

In the early hours of the morning, Koda’s breathing had developed a rattle and Connor’s hopes of a quick recovery were dashed. Letting out a sigh, the fretting father was worried and checked the time to see if it was too early to wake Pearce. He waited for an agonisingly long hour before slipping off next door, desperately seeking reassurance from his husband. “Babe?” His voice cracked from a mix of the lack of sleep and the deep worry he felt. Pearce let out a grunt and rolled onto his back, peering at Connor through bleary eyes. “I think we might have to take him in.” The blonde said, wiping a tear away that he had been holding in for too long. “Oh no, really?” Pearce asked, stretching his arms and propping himself up. He could see Connor ready to burst into tears like a shaken drink and invited him in for a cuddle. “Oh Con, don’t cry. He’ll be okay, Koda’s a strong boy.” Pearce snuggled his husband tight as he shed the built up emotion.

Connor sat up, wiping his eyes and waved off his sadness. “I’m alright, it just built up, y’know?” Being up all night hadn’t helped his fluctuating emotions and sometimes he just needed Pearce’s support. “I need you to come see Koda, his breathing is worse and he is still on fire. I’m not sure what to do.”

Pearce knelt beside Koda and put the back of his hand against his forehead. “Je-sus! He is really hot.” He whispered in disbelief. Then he heard it, the crackle in Koda’s breathing and in that moment, he understood Connor’s worry all too well. ‘That’s not good’ He thought to himself, brushing his fingers through Koda’s damp hair. “I think we should get him checked out, just incase.” Connor nodded and gave Pearce’s shoulder a squeeze, before heading downstairs to phone their GP.

Pearce gingerly rose Koda from his troubled sleep so he could get him changed and ready to go. “Pa-pa? I dun feel good.” Koda croaked, downplaying his discomfort as he sucked in a shallow breath. “I know baby, I know. Papa’s going to get you dressed and then me and Daddy are going to take you to see the doctor.” Lifting him onto the changing table, Koda was practically dead weight, running on a couple hours sleep, his energy levels were on empty. “Can Ludlow come wif me?” Pearce gave him a sympathetic smile and nodded. “Of course baby.”

When they arrived, Pearce went on ahead to check in, while Connor carried their sniffly boy inside. Koda was dressed in extra layers, he had on a long sleeve red tshirt and thick maroon jogging bottoms, then ontop was a comfy, baggy hoodie and his bright blue coat on over that. Yet despite the thickness of his clothes Koda was still shivering. What was worrying Connor even more though was how sleepy and out of it his boy was.

The boy stayed placid and pliable throughout the doctors examination, not even flinching when she drew a vial of blood for further tests. After she had completed her checks, the doctor smiled at the nervous looking men. “His fever is very high, 39.7’C, but my real concern is his breathing. He has a slight crackling, but it should clear up with this medication.” She wrote a prescription for an anti-inflammatory and slid it across the wooden desk. “I think to be honest, a hospital visit would cause unnecessary stress and you both seem very capable. If his breathing worsens or his fever persists for more than 36 hours, then please go to the emergency room to get him checked out.”

Pearce took the prescription and gave the doctor a nervous smile. “Thankyou doctor.” They both said, before heading back to the car with Koda still sleepily clinging to Connor. Pearce drove the two straight home, so Koda could get some much needed rest and more importantly a much needed diaper change. “I’ll grab the medicine and some lunch, then I really need to head into work.” Pearce smiled, patting Koda’s flat hair. In all the confusion of the day, Connor had completely forgotten it was a regular weekday. “Oh babe, I didn’t mean to keep you, I…” The flustered blonde set Koda on the changing table and hugged Pearce in a tight apologetic cuddle, before he cut him off. “It’s fine.” Pearce chuckled. “You’ve got a lot on your mind, anyway I called ahead and told them I’d be a little late because my boy was ill.”

After apologising again, Connor started to change Koda, who had been waiting patiently this whole time. “Daddy I feel yucky.” He said ever so quietly. Pulling the fresh diaper up between the boys legs, Connor gave him a sympathetic smile. “Aww baby, Papa’s getting you some medicine that will help you feel better.”

A short while later, Pearce returned laden with a bundle of bulging paper bags for his two boys and headed straight upstairs to show them what he had brought. “Babe?” He whispered. “Babe, I-” Upon turning the corner into Koda’s room he found both Connor and Koda laying peacefully side by side in the boys single bed. Knowing they both were in need of all the sleep they could get, Pearce quietly sat the bags of food and medicine on the chair and silently slipped off to work. “Sleep well you two.”

Connor propped himself up, feeling quite surprised at himself for falling asleep. Looking over to the chair he had spent the night in, he spotted the paper bag from the pharmacy next to a white plastic bag with a very recognisable logo that Pearce had also left for him. “Heh, I love that man.” He hummed to himself, knowing Pearce had been to one of their favourite deli’s to buy a tasty lunch for him. While Connor ate his lunch, he watched Koda laying very still in his bed as he rested, still sniffing and coughing.

He was then snapped back to the moment when his phone buzzed in his pocket. “H… he-hello?” Connor flubbered, trying to pull his phone out and answer it quickly. “Hey babe… heh yes I did thankyou, I just finished it… hm?… no, he’s still very out of it… I think I’ll just work tonight when you get home, I don’t really want to leave him… I know… alright, okay… I love you too.” Hanging up the phone, Connor spent the next few anxious hours doting on his ailing boy, keeping his clothes and diaper dry and gently prompting him to drink as much as he was able.

Unfortunately there was no improvement by the time Pearce got home, the only thing that had changed was Connor was running on empty, looking up at his husband with a distinct tired squint. “Babe, go and have a sleep, I’ll be with him for a while.” Pearce smiled sympathetically, running his fingers through his husbands swept back blond hair. Reluctantly, Connor gave in, drowsily hugging his husbands muscled frame and smelling the intoxicating aftershave he had brought him, still lingering after his long day at work. “Mmm, you smell good.” He grinned, giving him a smooch.

Next door in their bedroom, Pearce changed out of his smart work clothes and into something much more comfortable. Connor shuffled into the room and flopped onto the waiting bed, almost falling straight asleep the second his weary head hit the pillow. Pearce chuckled as he heading around the bed, to pull the blanket over his sleepy husband. “Sleep well Babe.”

After sitting with Koda for a quiet half hour, the little one started to stir. “Papa?” He croaked weakly, lifting his head off the pillow. Pearce snapped out of his imagination world and lowered his book. “Hi buddy, are you okay?” The groggy boy reached out, longing for the comforting touch of his Papa. “Ooh come here sweetie.” Pearce groaned with a smile, lifting Koda out of bed and into his lap.

“Did… ***** sniff * you haf’a nice day at work Papa?” Pearce almost melted at his incredibly sweet boy, even though he was undoubtedly suffering, he was still kind enough to ask about him. “Very good thankyou, how are you feeling little one?” Pearce asked, stroking Koda’s back. Koda rubbed his nose on his sleeve and let out a weak cough. “I’m bit cold. An’ s’eepy.” The little one said quietly, cuddling up to his warm Papa. “Where’s Daddy gone?” He asked quietly. “He’s having a quick snooze.” His Papa told him, with a wink.

Pearce decided after being out of it for most of the day, Koda could do with a little stimulation before settling down for the night. “Shall we go watch some cartoons for a little bit?” Seeing his boy’s smile gave him his answer and after checking that his diaper was dry, he carefully carried Koda and his thick blanket downstairs to cuddle.

“What would you like to watch baby boy?” Pearce had Koda wrapped up like a burrito on his lap, nursing a fresh bottle of juice as he pointed to the channel he wanted. They sat quietly watching Paw Patrol and Pearce found himself listening to the audible rattle in his boys breathing. He ran his hand up and down Koda’s back, in a vain attempt to help ease his boy’s pain, feeling like he needed to at least try in whatever way he could. Hearing Koda’s soft wheezing, coughing and sniffling as he sat limply in his lap, made him truly understand the worry Connor had been going through.

It took the full seven day course of medication to fight off Koda’s nasty virus and once he was strong enough and Connor confirmed he was better, he was determined to get back to normal. Koda had only one thing on his mind since the day he received a special get well soon care from all his friends and teachers at daycare.. The overly excited boy sat by the front door, pulling on his shoes and adjusting the velcro tabs. “Ready! Ready! Ready ready ready!” He chanted loudly down the hallway, jumping up and down with every syllable. “Koda, remember what we said?” Connor prompted as he walked towards him, holding Koda’s backpack in one hand. With Pearce heading into work early, Connor was on hand to take their boy to his first day back. Koda stopped bouncing and looked up with his wide dark eyes. “Um… Oh! To take it easy.” He smiled, happy he remembered. “That’s right, which means no bouncing or running today. You’re still recovering.” Connor didn’t want to stamp out Koda’s fun, but it was important to reiterate his rules until Koda was back to full strength.

With Koda’s promise in place, Connor drove him to daycare and accompanied him inside, holding his hand so he wouldn’t sprint off as soon as he saw his friends. “Good morning, Ah! Welcome back Koda!” Miss Lime cheered, bending forward to meet her missing pupil. “I hope you enjoyed our card.” She added, straightening back up. “Yeah!” Koda cheered, heading straight over to the gathering group of other littles.

Connor watched Koda trying his hardest not to run to his friends and shook his head as he turned back to Miss Lime. “It was all he talked about.” Connor smiled. “Everyday he would ask if he was well enough to come back.” They both watched everyone huddle around the smiling boy, welcoming him back. “I did just want to say, he isn’t 100% yet. He doesn’t have any symptoms or sickness, it’s just he’s still a bit weak. So if you could just keep an eye on him and try to stop him running or being too energetic for a few days, I know it’s a big ask.” Conor chuckled, knowing that keeping any number of littles still was near impossible. “Not to worry.” Miss Lime smiled. “We can have Dee stick close by, it’s arts and crafts today so should be pretty calm, especially as it’s due to rain.”

Connor headed home with a big smile on his face, knowing Koda was in good hands, he had the whole day to focus on his work after almost a week of putting everything on hold. At the house they had quickly transformed what was once the room next to the living room that they used for storage, into an entire factory setup for Connor’s new business. They had set up two desks, one for his computer and the other for his sewing machine. The latter also had enough space where he could comfortably cut and pin material using his templates he had made for all different sizes. Koda had his own special template that he had been allowed to decorate and everytime Connor caught a glimpse of the special XS size card, a wide smile crept across his face.

On his first day back at daycare, Koda slotted straight back into his comfortable space and decided that he would make lots of drawings of all the things his Papa and his Daddy did for him when he was unwell, then Dee would help him make it into a little paper booklet, that he could give to them as a thankyou. “What a wonderful idea. I’m sure they would love it!” Dee smiled, letting Koda get to work on his first picture of the day.

By lunchtime, every table was covered with colourful drawings, heaps of pens and crayons and many smudges and marks from the dozen artists. Miss Lime and Sarah ushered the gang into the lunch room, while Dee stayed behind for a brief tidying session. The rowdy bunch tucked into their lunches, making enough noise for a group double their size. Once they had finished their healthy lunches, one by one they headed to the indoor toy area for their hour of free play. Unfortunately for Koda, he got caught up in the fun and energy of everyone around him and as a result only 30 minutes in, he was drained. He flopped down on the cushioned reading area, feeling quite wobbly. “Uh oh, Dee? Could you please get Koda?” Miss Lime quickly spotted the drooping little and sent her assistant to bring him away from the noisy, playing little’s. “Yes Miss.” Dee replied heading straight to Koda

Koda was helped over to the quiet area where Miss Lime was sat waiting. “Are you doing okay Koda?” She asked, looking worried. With Dee holding him steady, Koda looked up with a tired squint and nodded. “Alright, why don’t we have naptime a little early today?” She smiled, before sheltering the worn out boy into the quiet corner. “I’ll stay with him.” Dee whispered, freeing Miss Lime up to be able to continue her duties. Seconds later Koda was out like a light.

When it was time for the little’s to wake up and start their afternoon activities, Koda was starting to feel better, but was still a lot more reserved than his usual bouncy self and Miss Lime had Dee continue to stick close by.

As home time drew near and with Koda’s help, Dee started to assemble all the boy’s drawings. Sticking one side of the pages with a bright blue tape, she made a simple book for Koda to give to his daddies. “Wow! Thankyou Miss Dee!” The little one beamed, extremely pleased with how his book had turned out. “You’re welcome Koda.” Dee replied in her upbeat chipper voice.

Koda wrapped his homemade book up in his jacket and held it close to his person until they got home, so that he could unveil his surprise to his Papa and Daddy at the same time. “Was everyone pleased to see you sweetie?” Connor asked, looking at his boy in the rearview mirror. “Yeah! They all said they missed me and wanted to know if I was better.” Koda smiled innocently, meeting his Daddy’s gaze in the mirror. “And I told them I’m not supposed to run because I will get tired, but I did a little bit, but I didn’t mean to and I had naptime early, but then I felt better.” The little ones sweet confession made Connor chuckle just as they parked up outside their home.

“If you want to wait for Papa, you should put your surprise on the coffee table, before you go play.” Connor told him as he tidied his shoes away. “Okay!” Koda cheeped, speeding off with his bundled up jacket. “No running sweetie!”

Koda was laid on his belly on his playmat, with his whole box of toy plastic animals spread out all around him, when out of the livingroom window he saw the flash of car headlights that signalled Pearce’s return. “Daddy! Papa is home!” He bellowed, pushing himself up to his feet and leaping over his toys to grab his surprise that was sitting on the coffee table. Koda sprinted to Connor’s office, excited to finally show off what he had worked so hard on at daycare.

Connor grinned at his animated boy as he bounced in his office doorway and allowed him to lead him to the dining table. Koda then sped off to meet Pearce at the front door, with Connor chuckling and shaking his head at his excited speedy boy. “Hey buddy how was-- Erk!” Pearce was cut off by Koda taking his hand and running with him to the kitchen. “Woah speedy! What’s going on?” Pearce chuckled, utterly bewildered by the blind side.

“Our little man, has a surprise for us both.” Connor chimed in, putting his arms around Pearce as he plopped into the seat next to him. With his Papa in his seat, Koda set his book, covered in his jacket, on the tabletop and climbed into Connor’s lap. “Miss Dee helped me make this at daycare! I wanted to make you a thankyou picture for looking af’er me when I was sick.”

After his explanation, Koda whipped his jacket off, tossing it to the floor, revealing his masterpiece. The front cover read: ‘Thankyou Daddy and Papa’ in splodgy bright letters and a happy teddy bear painted underneath. Bound with smooth blue tape, the book contained 20 pages of crayon drawings of all the kind and fun things his daddies did for him on his week off. He drew all his favourite things from bath time, story time, cuddle time and the night he slept in his daddies bed, to the other things they did for him, like keeping him warm and giving him medicine to help him feel better.

Koda gave them a running commentary as they flicked through each page and even though Koda’s drawings were crude and a little rough around the edges, Pearce and Connor looked upon each page as if they were the sweetest and best piece of art they had ever seen. “Koda… this is adorable!” Connor gushed, squeezing his boy and smooching his cheek. “Oooh I love you so much, my sweet boy.”


	4. Life and Ideas

Outside the seasons change was rapidly approaching and in the space of a few short days, the colours transitioned from bright shades of green to the much subtler yellow and orange. Because of how fast the year was changing, Pearce had arranged one last picnic in the park before the cold spell descended. “Hey buddy, ready to go?” Pearce asked, patting the boy’s hair as he sat cross legged on the living room carpet, cuddling his stuffed friends. “Can I bring my stuffies?” Koda replied quickly. “Just a few.” Pearce smiled cocking his head.

The trio walked hand in hand to the park, with Koda in the middle and Pearce carrying the blanket they would sit on. They had chosen to take a few snacky foods and buy the rest at the food stall in the middle of the park, because of their options for hot tasty food. Entering the park, Connor looked at Pearce and saw him smirking back at him, confirming he had the same idea. “1, 2, 3!” Together they lifted Koda up, swinging their boy in the air. “Weeee!” Koda cheered, laughing at the sudden swoop. “Again! Again!”

Swinging their boy through the park, they found a nice spot and laid out their tartan blanket under a big old maple tree. The big starred leaves were mid change, each one more vibrant than the last. Greens, bled into yellows, which darkened to orange and melded into brilliant shades of red. Koda sat on the blanket staring up into the tree above them, completely absorbed in the beauty of the nature around him. “Kodaaa.” Connor sung, snapping the boy out of his daydream. “Huh?” The boy blinked, missing the question. “Do you want to come with Daddy and choose your lunch?” Connor repeated with a smile.

While out in the bustling park, Koda’s senses were tantalized by every rustle and all he could see. One thing caught the boys attention that seemed confusing to him, there was a woman sat on the other side of the park bench, huddled up in a big dark overcoat, with a mound of bags attached to a small trolley by her side. Her long unkept hair blew in the gentle breeze as she looked in the rubbish bin after each person that visited it. “Daddy? Why is that lady checking the bin?” Koda asked innocently.

After paying for their food, Connor and Koda headed back to Pearce. “Well sweetie, unfortunately she is homeless, so she tries to find food wherever she can.” Connor explained in the simplest way he could. They all sat on the blanket and shared out the food Connor had brought. “Mm mm mmm! Looks good.” Pearce grinned, leaning over to grab his mouth watering chicken burger. The two adults quickly tucked into their food, smiling and relaxing on the blanket happily, but Koda was thinking. He lifted his yummy looking hotdog to his mouth and paused, looking over at the homeless woman.

“Where are you going little one?” Pearce asked with a smirk, seeing Koda pull himself to his feet and toddle off. “Oh! Koda!” Connor quickly jumped up and hurried after him. Koda made his way up to the dishevelled woman and held out his hotdog to her with a smile on his face. “Hi! Would you like my hotdog? I didn’t bite it or anything.” He explained, offering up his tasty lunch. The woman was startled at first, but eagerly took the kind boy’s offering. “Th-thankyou young man… That’s ever so kind.”

Connor caught up and put his hands on Koda’s shoulders, smiling nervously at the homeless woman. “Come on sweetie.” He said quietly, turning Koda away. “Y-you’ve got a really kind boy th-there.” The woman told Connor, before hungrily biting into the hotdog.

“That was very nice of you Koda.” Connor smiled, hugging him to his side. It always amazed him how genuine and kind hearted Koda was. “My sweet boy.” He grinned, kissing Koda’s head. “Let’s get you another.”

When they got back to the blanket, Pearce, who had watched everything unfold, pulled Koda into his lap and wrapped him in a bear hug. “Oh, my little bleeding heart, you’re such a cutie pie.” Pearce snuggled his boy as he finally took a bite of lunch, while Connor laid next to them, both of them feeling such an adoration for their precious boy.

When they got home, Pearce was rifling through the cupboards in the kitchen, only to discover they had nothing he needed to cook dinner. He called out to Connor, who was in his home office working on an order. “Babe? I’m going to make a run to the supermarket, is there anything you want?” Pearce jotted the few items on his list and slowly shuffled into the living room, where Koda was engrossed in his cartoons. “Papa?” Koda blinked up at him. “Yeah buddy?” He mumbled, looking up from his paper. “Can I come?” He asked sweetly. “Sure you can!” Pearce replied cheerfully.

Koda was allowed to bring his stuffed friend Stripey, on their second outing of the day and was having fun tossing him in the air and catching him. After parking up, Pearce grabbed the nearest trolley and leaned against it, studying his list for a moment before going inside. “Papaaa!” Koda’s shriek, sent a frightening chill through Pearce as he frantically spun around looking for his boy. “Koda? Koda?! Where are you?” He yelled with his head on a swivel. Koda appeared from behind an SUV a few spaces away from where Pearce was standing, looking very sad. “What happened? Are you okay sweetie?” The taller man rushed over, enveloping his boy in a cuddle. Burying his head against his Papa’s comforting chest, Koda pointed to the floor behind him, where Stripey had come to rest in a puddle. Breathing a sigh of relief, Pearce gave the sopping wet tiger a sympathetic smile. “Oh dear. Don’t worry we’ll get him cleaned and dried when we get home.”

The little one was very upset as Pearce lifted him into the trolley, bowing his head. The dripping tiger was sat in the main part of the trolley so he wouldn’t get Koda wet on their rounds. ‘I should of let him bring more than one.’ Pearce thought, seeing how upset Koda was. He stroked his thumb over Koda’s face and gently lifted his chin. “Do you want your paci sweetheart?” He asked, looking into his water brimming orbs. Getting a slight nod, Pearce reached into his jacket pocket, which these days always had a paci on hand for his boy and popped it into Koda’s mouth. Adding a sweet kiss to his forehead, they headed inside.

Pearce made sure to pick up some very special treats for Koda, to help shift his gloomy mood. After paying, they had to take a quick trip to the family bathroom, before heading home. “Dee dee d-dee.” Pearce hummed, tickling Koda’s belly as he taped the boys diaper closed. “Papa!” He giggled. “There’s my smile.”

When they got home, Connor was waiting for them at the front door. “Hey, I thought you’d be working?” Pearce smiled, pleasantly surprised to see his husband coming towards them. “I was just taking a quick break to get a drink and I saw you pull up, so I thought I’d help.” Connor grinned. Koda climbed out of his seat and rushed towards Connor, carrying his tiger in both hands. “Daddy, i’s ‘mergancy!” He mumbled around his paci, running past him into the house.

After Connor gave his husband a puzzled look, Pearce explained everything that happened as they carried the bags to the kitchen. Koda was patting Stripey with the small towel from the kitchen in a cute, but futile effort to dry his beloved friend. “Let Papa take care of Stripey.” Pearce said, putting his hand on Koda’s shoulder. “Why don’t you show Daddy what we brought?” He whispered, before taking the stuffed tiger to the laundry room. Connor heard the subtle whisper and scooped Koda up into his arms, letting out a brief chuckle. “What did Papa get you this time?” He asked knowingly.

Koda took his paci out and wiggled his finger at the bags with a big smile. “I got a dinosaur cover for my bed an’ a racing car!” Connor rolled his eyes and smirked, knowing Pearce was so quick to spoil their boy. Leaving Koda to unpack his new toy in the living room, Connor stood behind Pearce with his arms folded, tapping his foot on the floor. Pearce burst out laughing before he could even turn around to face the music. “But he was sad, I couldn’t help it.” He said, trying to give any reason he could. “Oh I don’t mind about that.” Connor smirked, waving off Pearce’s worry. “I want to know where my treat is.”

Pearce grasped his husband by the hips and pulled him close. “Well, I brought your favourite for dinner and how about if I give you this too.” Closing his eyes, he leaned close, pressing his lips to Connor’s. Pearce’s sudden loving embrace, took Connor’s breath away as he held tightly to his man. “I love you.” Connor hummed, brushing his fingers through his husbands well kept short hair. As the perfect kiss resonated and they gazed into each others eyes with mile wide smiles, the washer behind Pearce beeped at the same time Koda called out from the front room. “Duty calls.” Connor chuckled, smooching his husband once more. “We’ll continue this later.” He grinned.

“Daddyyyy!!” Koda yelled, bringing Connor to him. “Yes sweetie?” The blond smirked at his boy, who had shredded the packaging for his new toy, leaving it spread all over the living room carpet. Koda shook the control to his remote control Lamborghini and flicked the switch, but nothing happened. “I can’t make it goooo.” He whined, sticking out his lower lip with purpose. “It needs batteries sweetie.” Connor smiled, patting the little ones head.

Clicking the silvery bullets into the control and new car, Connor flicked the switch on and handed it to the eager little. “Try now.” Koda took the controller and nudged one of the joysticks, which made the car jolt forward. The excited boy gasped and grinned back at Connor. “Thanks Daddy!” He cheeped, racing the car off in a large loop.

Koda raced his new remote control car around the whole house, right up until dinnertime, not even stopping to let his daddies know he needed changing. “Alright my little racer, it’s time to put the car down and let it rest for a while. It’s time for dinner.” Pearce explained after chasing down the speedy little. But when he got him stopped he found more than he bargained for as the familiar smell wafted past his nose. “Uh! Sweetie, why didn’t you come find Papa if you needed a change?” Koda looked up at him innocently and pointed to his sporty car. “I had’a win the race.”

He took Koda upstairs to get changed, after calling out to Connor to let him know where they were headed. The little one laid on his changing table flicking through one of his books as Pearce fought his way through the messy change. “Phew…” He winced, trying his hardest to clean Koda up as best he could. “Papa?” Koda said in a quiet voice, rubbing his eye. “Yeah buddy?” Pearce replied, holding his breath, which went completely unnoticed by the boy. “I don’t want any dinner.” He grumbled, wriggling on the cushioned table as Pearce finally slipped a fresh thick ABU simple under his rear. “Uh oh, are you a fussy boy?” But the little one didn’t reply, instead he simply crossed his arms and let out a mixture of a grunt and a squeak.

Pearce knew from Koda’s mood that he was most likely going to put up quite a fight and as they reached the kitchen, he gave Connor a wide eyed look, to try and prepare him. “Are you all freshened up sweetie?” Connor said in a chipper voice, trying to lift the mood. Koda nodded and looked up at him with a slight smile. “Papa helped me.” He said wrapping his arms around Pearce, wanting to be held.

Pearce lifted him up and sat with him on his lap at the dining table. “Will you try eating a little bit for me?” Pearce asked, rubbing a smooth circle on Koda’s back, but the defiant little shook his head and buried his face against his Papa’s hard chest. Shooting a pleading look to Connor, Pearce signalled he was out of his depth. But Connor simply shot him a wink and motioned for him to start eating.

“Mmm, mmm mmm! Babe this is the best one you’ve made yet! Oh!” Connor’s over-exaggerated enjoyment, made it hard for Pearce to keep a straight face. However after a few short minutes of Connor laying it on thick, it had the desired effect and made Koda turn his head around.

He watched for a few moments as Connor enjoyed another juicy bite of beef and decided that maybe he would like to try a piece. “Papa?” Koda said quietly. “Mmm?” Pearce had his own mouthful and set his fork down quickly, as he knew what was coming next. “Can I please try a piece?” Koda’s polite request was quickly met with Connor sliding his plate of dinner and a fork, that he had hidden on one of the empty chairs, infront of him.

After not being hungry at the start of dinner, Koda’s mind had been turned right around and when everyone finished, he had worked his way through a good two thirds of his portion. It had been a busy day for the small family and it was starting to show on the smallest member. When Koda let out a big wide yawn, Connor decided it would be good to have a cuddly movie night.

He made Koda a bottle and curled up with the snuggly boy on the comfy sofa, while the beginning of Disney’s Cars played on the widescreen TV. Pearce crept into the room, in a crouched walk with his hands behind his back. “Sweetieeee, I have someone for you.” He sung, revealing the freshly cleaned tiger. “STRIPEY!” Koda cheeped loudly, taking his friend and holding him to his cheek. “Thankyou Papa!”

“You’re welcome baby.” Pearce felt a warmness in his heart, seeing how happy Koda was to be reunited with his oldest friend. Koda stayed laying on the comfy sofa with Connor for the rest of the movie, until bedtime.

Koda’s friend from daycare had invited him out to lunch, meaning the couple had a rare few hours alone in the house together and of course the first thing that hit their minds was to run upstairs, strip off and slam the bedroom door closed. With their little one out of the house, Connor and Pearce lay in their post orgasmic glaze, in each others arms on the cloudy Saturday. “I love you so much.” Connor hummed, breaking the tranquil silence. “If you really love me, you could do that thing I like.” Pearce smirked, glancing at him. “Already?!” Connor exclaimed, raising an eyebrow at his husband’s miraculously quick recovery.

After Connor’s performance, Pearce treated him to his speciality chicken and bacon salad for lunch, while they sat lovingly snuggled together feeding each other bites of the fresh dish. “Mmm, so tasty.” Connor grinned, kissed the end of his husbands nose playfully. “Am I?” Pearce joked, getting a tickly nudge in his ribs. “Okay okay! Sorry.” He laughed loudly.

After cuddling, the couple danced around the kitchen, cleaning every square inch with wipes and sprays, getting it ready for the baking Connor planned on doing with their little man that afternoon. The music echoing around the house was loud enough to drown out the sound of the rain that had started outside.

Having enjoyed a very yummy lunch, Koda and Demri were unphased by the falling rain, giggling and splashing as they headed to through the park. But Demri’s Mum wasn’t as relaxed, she could see the storm building and with their car parked back at the boys’ house, she decided to steer the bouncy littles back as quickly as possible.

When Connor opened the door, he gasped seeing Koda standing there soaked from head to toe. “Hi Daddy! I’m ‘bit wet.” He sniffed, rubbing his nose with the sodden, dripping sleeve of his hoodie. “Oh my… come in, come in!” Connor stepped aside and hurried the wet trio inside. Pearce strolled out of the kitchen, drying his hands to greet them. “Hey guys did you have f- Oh.”

Koda was by far the wettest of the three, having proudly jumped in more puddles than Demri, but as a result was completely drenched. “Oh sweetie, you’re soaked through!” Connor said, hurrying Koda up to the bathroom, while Pearce sorted Demri and her Mum out with some spare towels.

Peeling off Koda’s clothes, Connor listened as the boy happily relayed the events of his special lunch out. “An’ there was this puddle the size of the whole path!” Koda beamed, doing a happy little jump, replicating his earlier splash. Connor chuckled as he dried his boys hair with a fluffy towel. “Alright my little splasher, let’s get you dressed.”

After Demri had gone home, Koda had changed into a comfy onesie and was playing with his toy helicopter on his playmat in the middle of the living room, while Connor and Pearce were on the large sofa. “I think a subtle pink.” Connor said gazing at the bare white walls around them. Pearce made a scoff and shook his head. “Oh what? Not macho enough for your male pride?” Connor joked, nudging him playfully. Pearce chuckled and waved him off. “ _No_. I was thinking a nice dark green would look good.” The two sat squabbling about what colour to decorate the front room, it was the last room left to paint, but they were having trouble deciding, which is why they had left it until last.

“Well, let’s put it to a vote.” Connor grinned. “Koda? What do you think?” He turned to their boy who looked up from his toy helicopter like a deer in headlights, he hadn’t been listening to what his Daddy’s had been arguing about and looked very shocked at their question. Pearce burst out laughing and motioned the surprised boy towards him. “Come here cutie.” Lifting Koda into his lap, he reassured him that he wasn’t in trouble. “Me and Daddy are trying to decide what colour would look good in here.” Pearce said hugging his boy with one arm and pointing the walls with his free hand.

His big glistening orbs looked around as he thought for a few moments. “How ‘bout a jungle!” Koda cheeped. Though it wasn’t quite the answer they were looking for, it sparked a curious thought in Connor’s designer mind. “A jungle huh? That would look cool wouldn’t it? Would you have trees and big vines in here?” Pearce smiled, inquiring further about Koda’s choice. “Yep! Great big trees at’a sides an’ monkeys on the ceiling an’ a tiger.” The boy happily explained. “A tiger?” Pearce’s feigned shock, caused Koda to let out an incredibly cute giggle.

While Pearce entertained their boy, Connor was cooking up an idea for the room. “Okay, I’ve got it!” He said standing up. “These two walls we’ll paint a tree like green.” Connor was animated as he pointed out the opposite walls, trying to explain his vision to his boys. “Then on the other two, we’ll do a base of like a light bamboo yellow and where the green meets in the corners, we’ll paint big leaves to blend it in.” Connor smiled, hoping they agreed. “Like a jungle!” Koda yelled with sparkly excited eyes.

Pearce stretched his arms above his head, letting out a groan a lion would be proud of. “Weren’t my lovely boys going to be making something tasty?” He hinted, feeling the hunger already starting in his stomach. “Oh! Yeah, let’s get started shall we?” With all the painting ideas swirling in his head, Connor’s baking plans had slipped his mind momentarily.

“Daddy? What are we making?” Koda asked as he got help washing his hands from his protective Daddy. “Well my little chef, we are going to make some yummy chocolate brownies today.” With freshly cleaned fingers, Koda bounced excitedly up and down, infront of the weighing scales and the ingredients Connor had already retrieved from the cupboard as he awaited Connor’s first instruction. “Alrighty! First thing we need is… one hundred and fifty grams of the white sugar please.” He grinned, reading from his recipe card. On the chunky wooden chopping board, Connor coarsely chopped the chocolate using a large sharp knife. “One hundred an’ fifty!” Koda cheered, announcing his completion.

Peering over, Connor saw the mound of sugar and smiled. “Ooo speedy. Okay add fifty grams of brown sugar ontop of the white.” Koda lifted the crinkly plastic bag and carefully tipped out some sugar into the waiting tub. His tongue soon poked it’s way out of his mouth as he concentrated on tipping the perfect amount into his mix. After measuring his sugar this time, Koda’s eyes caught sight of the crumbly chocolate his Daddy had chopped and with his back turned, melting the butter, the little one pounced on the opportunity.

“I’m ready for the cho-… Uh! Cheeky boy! That’s supposed to be for the brownies.” Connor smirked, catching his boy red handed stuffing a couple of chunks into his mouth. “I think I better take that.” He added with a chuckle, lifting the chopping board away from Koda’s prying fingers.

Connor spooned the ingredients into a large plastic bowl and placed it on the sideboard. “Alright sweetie, go careful now.” He put the plastic blue spoon in Koda’s hand and stood behind him, ready to guide him if needed. The little one’s tongue poked out once more as he tried his hardest not to spill any mixture as he carefully folded the flour, and chocolaty butter into each other.

With his stomach growling, Pearce couldn’t wait until they were ready and rounded the corner to rummage through the fridge. “Papa! Not yet!” Koda yelled, adversed to Pearce’s premature appearance. He turned with the bowl pressed to his chest, to try and keep his brownies secret from his Papa, but turning so quickly, a splodge overflowed and splatted on the boys tshirt. “Oh no! Daddy!” Koda cheeped, looking for help.

This had all unfolded in the space of a few short seconds, but Connor swooped swiftly into action. He took the bowl from his boy with one hand, setting it aside and wiped away the sizeable chocolaty mess from his tshirt. “It’s alright, it’s just a little bit sweetie.” He said, easing Koda’s worries.

Before any more accidents, the pair tipped the brownie mixture into the square baking tin and Connor slipped it into the hot oven. Feeling the overwhelming excitement, Koda did a happy little dance on the spot. “How long does it take?” He asked, peeking through the illuminated door to the oven.

Wrapping his arms around the excited boy, Connor smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “Oh not too long, I’d say we have long enough to get you changed and have a nice drink too.” Connor knew his boy was definitely due a change, so first stop was a fresh diaper and a onesie that wasn’t covered in brownie batter. “No peeking.” Connor warned his husband as he walked past Pearce, who by now had served himself a thick sandwich and was crunching down on the fresh salad inside.

“Up we go!” Connor cheered, lifting his boy onto his changing table, but unpopping his onesie, he found Koda’s diaper very wet. “Uh oh, you almost sprung a leak. It’s lucky we put those brownies in when we did.” Connor was now very skilled at changing his boy’s diapers and had Koda in a poofy ABU Simple diaper in no time. “What would you like to wear sweetie? A clean onesie or tshirt and shorts?”

Koda thought hard for a moment, part of him wanted to be grown up and wear shorts like his daddies did, but the other part of him wanted the comfort his cosy onesies brought. “Shall Daddy choose you a onesie little one?” Connor asked, knowing what Koda really wanted. The shy boy gave a slight nod and hid his face in his cuddly bear Ludlow, who, ontop of being his new favourite, had also become his change buddy.

Koda headed downstairs, crinkling as he went, now dressed in a blue onesie with white stars and ran straight into the living room where Pearce was sat. “Here he comes!” He cheered, holding his arms out to the speeding boy as he leapt into his lap. “Oof!” Pearce caught his boy as he clattered into his built frame. “Papa, Daddy’s gonna have a drink and then our super special yummy treats will be ready.” The excited little explained. “Mmm I can’t wait.” Pearce grinned, cuddling his little one. “Maybe I should have a little… SNACK! RRRAAA!” Pearce roared, smooching Koda’s neck and tickling his sides as he held tight, not letting him escape. “AA! HAHAHAA! PAPA!” The boy squealed and giggled loudly as he tried to break free from Pearce’s tickle hold.

Connor was stood, leaning in the doorway watching Pearce playing sweetly with Koda, feeling truly thankful for how perfect his life had become. While still giggling, Koda swiped his hand over towards Connor. “Daddy help!!”

Connor chuckled and shook his head. “If Papa wants any brownies, he had better release my little helper so we can go check on them.” Pearce stopped dead and let the wriggly, giggling boy from his grip. Koda stuck out his tongue at Pearce, with an added smile and quickly ran into the kitchen before he had a chance to respond. “Ooo it’s not over you cheeky boy!”

Wearing his thick protective oven gloves, Connor had Koda stand back, while he took the tray out of the oven. “Woooowww!” Koda gushed, his eyes sparkling at the sight of the steamy, chocolatey, chunky brownies. “Can we eat one now?!” He cheeped.

Connor smirked, knowing that question was coming. “Let’s check if they’re done first.” He set the tray on the side and gently lifted the flaps of baking paper he had left, to lift their brownies out of the hot tray. Koda watched closely as Connor punctured the surface with a tiny cocktail stick, then stared, waiting for his Daddy’s reaction. “Ooo I think they are looking perfect!” He announced, much to his little ones delight.

Pearce appeared as if the smell had summoned him. “I heard they were done.” He grinned, patting Koda’s soft hair. “Almost.” His husband said, pulling a sharp flat knife from the ‘no no’ drawer. The ‘no no’ drawer being the one that was off limits to Koda, because it was where all the sharp and pointy objects were kept. Connor swiftly cut the large square into sixteen almost identical pieces, with everyone's eyes watching his every movement. “Do you want to try the first piece sweetie?”

Koda covered his mouth and did a little excited wiggle, before shaking his head. “Papa first.” He said coming over all shy. Pearce reached forward, not needing to be told twice and grabbed a corner piece. The tentative boy watched again for his Papa’s reaction, to make sure it was safe before trying one himself. “Oh… eurgh… no, I don’t think my boy would like these at all. I had better eat the whole batch right now.” Pearce’s joke earned his a jab in the ribs from Connor, making him almost drop what was left of his treat. The joke didn’t put Koda off though, he reached out for his own tasty square, taking a bit bite of the chewy brownie. “Mmm! Da’y ‘ou haf’a ‘iece!” He attempted to say, with a big smile on his face.

The three stood in the kitchen, enjoying Connor and Koda’s baking triumph. “I think you’re going to have to be making some more soon buddy.” Pearce smiled, praising his little one and cuddling him into his side. “Mhmm, you did a great job sweetie.” Connor added, joining in on the cuddle. All the praise and love made the shy boy feel a pure happiness to his very core.

After their baking success, Koda thought about Connor’s idea for the front room, for the whole evening, right up until he went to bed. “Daddy? Are we going to have monkeys in the jungle?” Connor smiled as he taped Koda’s nighttime diaper closed. “Well, I’m not sure. I guess we’ll have to wait until it’s finished.” He told his curious boy, giving him a wink. He helped pull his little one’s arms, one at a time into the cosy sleeper and zipped up the front so he was ready for bed. Lifting the padded, sleepy boy into bed, Connor sat on the end with book in hand. “What did you pick tonight? Hansel and Gretel, ooo one of my favourites. Is Ludlow all tucked in and comfy?” Connor asked, getting a very big yawn and nod in reply. “Good. Here we go… Down in the valley was a wood. Next to the wood was a cottage. And in the cottage lived a wood-cutter and his two children, a little boy named Hansel, and his sister, Gretel…”

Connor stretched his arms up and let out a groan as he reached the livingroom. “He’s fast asleep.” He told his husband, who was laidback sleepily on the comfy sofa. “Mmm I think I’m almost ready for bed too.” Pearce smirked, holding his arms open to invite Connor to a cuddle. “Almost?” Connor questioned, leaning into the cuddle. But feeling his husbands roaming hands he stood up and held out his hand. “Come with me.” He murmured seductively.

It was a blustery, but dry Tuesday evening as Connor pulled into the restaurant carpark, just before 7pm. Out of the window Koda spotted JJ standing by the entrance. “Awe, he beat us!” The excited little one chuckled, disappointed they had lost the mini race.

JJ had only been in the country for a matter of hours, but after having a brief rest and freshening up, he was eager to keep the promise he made to Koda and inform his friends on his news. “Heeeyy!” JJ called, holding his arms in the air as he saw the trio approaching. Koda ran ahead of his daddies and wrapped his arms around his absent mentor. “Hey mini-man.” JJ smiled, embracing Koda. “I’ve missed you buddy.” He lifted the boy up and held him as he greeted his friends. “Hey guys, how was the move?” The three made small talk as they were shown to their table, with Koda holding onto JJ and smiling.

JJ had reserved a comfy quiet booth at the steakhouse he had chosen, mainly because the menu was simple enough for family dining. Koda sat inbetween JJ and Connor, with Pearce rounding out the semi circle.

All four were happily chatting about everything that had transpired over the past few months, while they had been apart, with Koda leading the charge and chiming in all he could. The chatty boy suddenly clammed up, when his great big burger was placed infront of him by the waitress. While Koda tucked into his dinner, JJ took a sip of his beer and clapped his head together. “So…” He began, beaming with excitement. “I had this idea, like a fuckin’ brainwave as soon as you guys phoned me.” Koda looked up with his mouth filled to the brim, like a chipmunk and pointed his finger at JJ’s cursing, making all three guys chuckle.

“I want to write a young adult series, loosely based on Koda. There’s a really powerful story here, that deserves to be told. He’s such a loveable boy and I think his story could help other ABDL’s to feel better about themselves. Plus there is a real gap in the market for people like Koda. I pitched the idea to some friends of mine, nothing in detail but just the general gist and we have two offers from publishers that want to know more already. Before you say anything, there is just one catch that you need to be made aware of. They are interested because it’s real and because of that they want to use Koda’s name.” JJ barrelled through a range of emotions in a few short seconds as he spoke, not knowing how his friends would react and winced, bracing for disappointment.

Connor and Pearce looked at each other a little puzzled by the out of the blue request. But sharing a knowing smile, they both had the same answer. “Well, if you want to write about our boy, I think the decision has to lie with him, right?” Connor smiled, leaning his head on his hand.

However since he pointed out JJ’s potty mouth, Koda had tuned out and focused on devouring his very yummy dinner. Glancing up with wide innocent eyes, he saw three happy face looking at him as if waiting for an answer. “Huh?” His adorable confused expression, coupled with the sauce from his burger that was splattered all over his face, made the three chuckle. “Sweetie, JJ wants to write a story about you…” Connor began to explain as simply as he could, while leaning forward and lovingly wiping his boy’s mouth clean with a baby wipe.

Now freshened up, Koda spun around to his right. “About me? Why?” He chuckled shyly, burrowing into his Daddy’s side. “Because you’re one of my favourite people mini-man and I know people would love you as much as we do.” JJ’s excitement started to rub off on Koda as he explained his first ideas he had thought of for the story. “And you guys.” He said to Pearce and Connor. “I want you to help me research and plan out the story, as much as you’re willing to.” The couple could see their friends wheels turning as he got more and more animated about his idea. In high spirits, JJ ordered a surprise for the table, giving the little one a wink as he polished off the last remaining fries on his plate.

When the dessert JJ ordered came to the table, Koda’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “One mega ice cream sundae deluxe and four spoons, enjoy!” The waitress said, placing the mountain in the middle of the table with two hands. “JJ!” Pearce choked, both impressed and appalled at the monstrosity of a dessert before him. While the three adults all collectively blew out a breath and prepared themselves, Koda dove straight in, scooping a mouthful of whipped cream, sprinkles and a glistening cherry. “MMM!”He squealed.

Letting Koda lead, the friends took small bites of ice cream, whipped cream and fruity sauce. “There’s cakey pieces!” The already sticky boy exclaimed, diving his spoon in deep.

Nearly reaching the bottom, the quartet leant back in their seats, feeling the onset of a sugar coma closing in. “Daddy?” Koda held up his hands for help. After JJ’s wondrous ice cream treat, the little one was coated. A layer of sauce, cream, sprinkles and chocolate were all over his hands and face, even running down onto his shirt. “Oh dear.” While Connor attempted to clean up his sticky boy, JJ chatted a little more about his story idea and asked when they were free to help kick start his research. “Well you know you’re more than welcome to come over whenever.” Pearce smiled, draining the last remnants of his drink. Then a sudden thought sparked in his memory bank. “Mm! Come to think of it, Koda has a week off coming up, why don’t you come be with him?”

Koda nearly exploded with excitement, right there in the booth, staring with twinkling eyes pinned to JJ. Glancing at the boy’s bright glare, JJ let out a loud chuckle and covered his mouth. “How could I say no to that?” With smiles all around the table, Koda began to daydream, picturing all the fun things he and JJ would get up to on their upcoming week. While Connor filled JJ in on his huge career change, Pearce took the opportunity to take Koda off and change the distracted boy’s diaper, before they headed home.


	5. Triumphs and Tripping

Sitting up in his bed, Koda had a peculiar feeling as he listened out for any sign of life in the quiet, still house. The birds in the tree outside his window sung their cheery morning song as the wide awake boy threw off his covers. With Ludlow in one hand, he padded next door to his daddies bedroom, where they were still fast asleep. “Papa?” Koda shook Pearce’s arm just hard enough for him to open an eye and peek at him. “Is it time to wake up yet?”

In a sleep fogged daze, Pearce lifted his head and saw the alarm clock was off. In a swift motion he snatched his phone and a mild panic coursed through his body. “SHIT!” His loud cursing, startled his boy and simultaneously woke Connor from his slumber. Seeing he had scared Koda, he immediately felt awful and reached out to comfort his boy. “Oh sweetie, I’m sorry.” Pearce cooed, engulfing him. “Papa’s sorry, I wasn’t shouting at you.”

Connor rolled over, with messy bed hair and tired squinted eyes. “What’s going on?” His voice crackled. Pearce kissed Koda’s head as he got out of bed. “It’s almost 9! The powers out, alarm didn’t go off.” He said quickly, disappearing into the bathroom. Still feeling a little bit sheepish, Koda climbed onto the bed and nuzzled up to Connor. “Papa made me jump.” The little one chuckled, leaning into his Daddy’s warmth. “Silly Papa.” Connor croaked, cuddling his boy and kissing his temple.

Pearce came rushing out of the bathroom and began quickly getting dressed in his suit. “Thankyou for waking us up buddy. If you hadn’t come in, I’d have definitely been late for work.” Pearce smiled, buttoning his white shirt without looking as he had done a thousand times before. “Babe, do you think you can take Koda to daycare for me?” Connor nodded and smiled, about to offer anyway.

Connor patted Koda’s squishy rear and pulled the duvet off of the boy and himself. “Alright soggy boy, let’s get you changed.” He smiled, brushing Koda’s messy hair out of his face. While the sleepy boy rubbed his eyes, Connor stripped his overnight padding and cleaned his pale skin. “It was lucky you woke up sweetie, me and Papa would have slept so late, that he would have got in trouble at work.” A cute little smile spread over the boys face as the soft, dry diaper encased him. “Let’s grab ourselves a quick breakfast and get you to daycare hm?” Connor grinned, brushing his blonde hair back.

With a satisfied tummy, Koda hummed along to the radio happily, excited for his day of learning ahead. By the time they pulled into the carpark, Koda’s excitement had reached it’s peak and Connor had to be swift in letting him out of his seat before the little jumped out all by himself. Following him inside, Connor hung up his boy’s bag while he ran on ahead. “Have a good day sweetie!” He called out. “Bye Daddy! Luff you!” Koda shouted back across the room, unashamed to let the other littles hear.

Just like Koda, Connor had a busy day ahead. He would be attempting to finish sewing the final few orders he had already started before 2pm, when he had his finishing exam set by the business course he had been taking online and then once finished, he would be heading out to daycare once more, to pick up his boy and lastly stopping off to post his completed orders. The cheery radio tunes echoed around the home, competing with the whirring of the sewing machine as Connor raced through the cute printed material.

Standing by the whiteboard, Miss Lime looked out at the little’s and the few hands pointing skyward. “Yes Koda?” She smiled, picking the stillest of the hands in the room. “35?” He answered with a hint of uncertainty in his voice. “Very good! Green star for you.” Miss Lime’s praise put a wide smile on Koda’s face as she signalled for Dee to stick a shiny star to Koda’s worksheet. There were three coloured stars that Miss Lime gave out, each with a different meaning. The green was for doing well and getting the answers right, a silver star meant even if you didn’t get your answers right, you were trying hard and participating well. Then finally the big gold star was for any student who did outstanding work or made great contributions to the class.

Over the course of the lesson, everytime Koda looked down at his worksheet, he was filled with a pride that motivated him to try his hardest. The littles were all at different levels, but Miss Lime’s lesson plan carefully catered to all, helping advance them all with varying degrees of difficulty, with Sarah and Dee on hand to assist anyone who needed that extra help.

Gigi however, was starting to sulk. Numbers were where she struggled and today was no exception. “Hmph.” She grumbled quietly, vigorously rubbing out her wrong answer for the second time on her worksheet. “Gigi? Are you okay?” Koda whispered, caring about his frizzy haired friend. “I’m really stuck on this one.” She sulked, thudding her head onto her hand.

Koda leaned over and saw she was working on the same problem as him. “We can do it together.” He suggested, scooting a little closer. “I show you how I try to do them.” With his pencil, Koda messily scribbled the two numbers over one another. “I cut them in half.” Koda pointed, trying to explain. “Then do the 2 plus 6 on it’s own…” They both then counted on their fingers and jotted down their answer on the answer line. “An’ then the 2 plus 3 on it’s own and put them next to each other!” Koda cheeped, excited they got the answer, together.

Gigi looked at the math problem and then Koda’s way of solving it for a few still, silent seconds. Then with a huge tooth grin, she beamed at her friend. “Wow! That’s way better! Thanks Koda!” Gigi’s loud excited thanks, brought Miss Lime over to their table, smiling. “Sounds like it’s going well over here.”

“Yep! Koda told me a better way of doing the sums, so I don’t run out of fingers to count on!” Gigi explained, looking up at their teacher. Miss Lime looked over to Koda and pulled up an empty chair next to the young man. “Would you show me, how you helped Gigi, Koda?” She asked, curious to find out about the helpful student. The happy boy, joyfully jotted down his way of solving his sums, pointing out to his beaming teacher how he did it. “That is fantastic Koda! Where did you learn to do that?” Miss Lime was very impressed and leaned back in the small, red plastic chair.

“Um, I think JJ taught me.” Koda said, blinking innocently at his amazed teacher. “Well he sounds like a very smart man. Would you come up to the whiteboard and show the class, please?” Miss Lime was not only impressed, but knew Koda could really benefit from the confidence boost that accompanied praise from his peers and mentors. Koda agreed and followed his teacher to the front of the class. “Everyone! Would you please look at the whiteboard. For anyone who is struggling a little with your math, Koda has a way that could help you. Koda.” Staring out at everyone’s eyes upon him, the boy felt a wave of shyness flood over him. Miss Lime, put her hand on his shoulder for support and handed him the squeaky erasable pen.

Even though his voice was a little shaky and he had a lump of fear in his throat, Koda showed everyone, like he did Gigi and got a rippling round of applause for his efforts. “I think, because of your good work today Koda, that you deserve a gold star.” An audible gasp from around the room, Gigi broke the silence, yelling out to her friend. “Well done Koda!” She was then quickly followed by Demri and a flurry of congratulations from everyone else.

For the rest of the day, Koda floated along on a cloud of glee, right up until it was time to go home. “Alright boys and girls, we have ten minutes before hometime, it’s time to clear our things away and tidy up our learning space. And don’t forget that tomorrow will be our special show and tell day, where you can bring something in to show the class. It can be meaningful to you, it can be something fun, you are allowed to bring anything you like and tell us all about it.” Miss Lime’s final announcement of the day got the little’s excited as they cleaned up. Once a month, Miss Lime would organise a show and tell, which while the little’s thought was a fun break from learning, was in reality a way for them to develop social skills and help them voice their own opinions.

As the littles funnelled out of daycare, Connor was stood in his usual spot next to his car and waved Koda over. The little one came speeding towards him, holding onto his fluttering worksheet, looking as happy as he had ever seen him. “Daddy! Daddy Daddy!” He squeaked, leaping into his arms. “Hey Sweetie, oooh.” Connor hummed, cuddling his bouncy boy tight. “Daddy look! I got a gold star! Look look look!” Koda wiggled his worksheet and pushed it into Connor’s hand.

The gold sticker twinkled in the sunlight as Connor scanned over Koda’s work. “You did?! Sweetie I am so proud of youuu!” He scooped Koda up and spun him around in the middle of the car park, in a burst of excitement. In the car, Connor took another look at Koda’s worksheet and smiled proudly. “My smart little boy.” He gushed, glancing in the mirror at Koda as he waved goodbye to his friends out the window. “I think, my gold star boy deserves his favourite for dinner tonight.”

Koda’s head snapped forward towards Connor. “Pizza wif’ stuffed edges!?” He was so excited, his words rolled into each other as his voice grew louder. “Papa will be so proud when he gets home.” Connor added, pulling onto the road for the short drive home. Before Koda was treated to his special dinner, Connor had another honour to bestow upon him. “There. Now everyone who comes over, will see how proud of our boy we are.” Connor smiled, adorning the fridge with Koda’s work.

Later that evening, Koda was lazing on the sofa, watching Spongebob and cuddling his long leopard, Reggie, while Connor was busy tapping away on his laptop. Awaiting the results of his exam, Connor was trying to keep busy, so he wouldn’t anxiously dwell on the result. “Okay that’s done…” He murmured quietly to himself, setting his computer aside. “Sweetie? Do you need a change?” Koda turned, his paci bobbing in his mouth and shrugged, not knowing if he did or not. “Come, let Daddy check.” Connor smiled, reaching his hand out to his boy.

Just as Connor stuck the final tape down on Koda’s fresh diaper, the little one heard the telltale sound of Pearce’s car engine pull into the driveway. “Papa ish back!” He lisped. Connor snapped Koda’s onesie closed and helped him off of the cushioned changing table. “Go ahead.” Connor sent him off with a pat on his padded rear, knowing there was no holding the excited boy back.

“Papa, Papa, Papa!” Koda called out, bounding down the stairs towards Pearce as he clicked the front door closed behind him. “Hey buddy. Did you have a good day?” He asked, holding his arms open, to invite his beaming boy in for a cuddle. Wrapping his arms around his Papa, Koda could smell the comforting, manly aftershave, clinging to his smart work clothes. “Mhmm! I have something to show you!” He excitedly cheeped, doing a fast tip tap dance on the spot.

He led Pearce by the hand through into the kitchen and pointed to the paper held flat to the fridge with coloured triangle magnets. “What’s this?… You got a gold star!?” Pearce examined the paper and felt a warmth spread through his very core. Lifting Koda into his arms, Pearce beamed a toothy grin, feeling an incredible love for him. “Ooh my smart boy.” Pearce cooed. “Come with Papa, I want to hear all about it sweetie.” Pearce carried Koda upstairs, letting him bundle up on their bed as he got changed and listened to Koda, tell him all about his day at daycare.

Both parents fought each other all night for the opportunity to snuggle their boy, which Koda found hilarious and loved all the cuddly attention. “Tomorrow we haf’ show and tell.” Koda hummed, starting to get sleepier and sleepier. Connor ran his fingers through Koda’s hair as the trio snuggled together on the sofa. “I know little one. It’s going to be fun huh?” They could sense the tiredness radiating from their boy and knew it wouldn’t be long before it was time to put him to bed. “You have your speech written out, don’t you hm?”

Moments later, Koda rolled over to face them both and snuggled up close with his eyes closed. “We should get him to bed.” Pearce told his husband quietly. “Awwee, but he’s so cuddly.” Connor whined, enjoying their long snuggly night. Peace shook his head and smirked. “Fine, just a little longer.” He whispered, wrapping his big meaty arms around his husband and let him lay back on his chest. But soon Connor had to relent as Koda’s breathing had slowed and he started to softly snore.

Pearce gently eased himself off of the sofa and lifted Koda into his arms. “Hey! Why do you get to put him to bed?” Connor’s mock anger, made Pearce chuckle and jolt, slightly disturbing his tired boy. “You got longer cuddles.” He retorted, with a sassy look on his face. When Pearce turned to take the sleeping little to bed, Connor jumped up off the couch and followed closely. “I’m coming too.”

Jointly changing Koda into a thick nighttime diaper, the proud parents then helped their little man into his comfy jammies and tucked him into his bed with his two cuddly friends, Stripey and Ludlow. “Sleep tight baby.” Connor whispered, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. Pearce flicked on the warm orange nightlight and added his own goodnight kiss to the sleeping boy. “Night buddy.”

They slipped out silently to their own room, cooing over how proud they were of their boy. “Aw Babe, he is doing so well at daycare! I’m so happy for him, I knew he would flourish, I knew it!” Pearce gushed, feeling a radiating warmth inside. Connor leaned back on the bed, gazing up at his husband with a look of pure adoration. “What?” Pearce chuckled nervously. “I’m just really proud of you… Papa.” Connor’s heart swelled, after knowing Pearce for as many years and him never once showing an interest in being a parent, to how their life had turned out now, he couldn’t be happier.

Changed into his nightwear of boxers and a tight faded green tshirt, Pearce fluidly slipped into bed, engulfing his husband in a loving embrace. “It’s honestly, the easiest job I’ve ever done.” He chuckled, smooching Connor’s temple. “You take such good care of our boy. But, I think I need taking care of too~.” Connor whispered into his ear, sending a ripple straight to his lovers heart.

Miss Lime stood and put her hands together as Demri finished showing off her very special mask. “Well done Demri, very good speech.” While the classroom clapped and Demri took a bow, Koda took a deep breath, knowing his turn at show and tell was next. Most of the littles had chosen a toy or a souvenir from a holiday they had been on, but Koda had chosen something with true meaning and something he held dear to his heart. “Next we have Koda.” She announced. Feeling the flutter of nerves dance in his chest, Koda remembered what his Papa had taught him.

Pearce and Connor had given the boy different help in preparing him for his speech, Connor had helped him write what he wanted to say and Pearce had assisted the shy boy with his nerves. “What Papa does when he’s nervous, is I pick one person in the room and pretend they are the only one there. Then all I have to do is talk to them and not lots of people at once.” Pearce’s words echoed in Koda’s memory as he stood his picture frame on the easel at the front of the room.

“Excellent, now please tell us what you have brought in and what is special about it.” Miss Lime said softly, in a very mellow tone to help ease her anxious student.

Giving her a nod and with a sweet smile, he held his paper so he could read it out and picked out his friend Gigi, sitting in the middle of the group, to focus on. “This is my most favourite picture that I have in my bedroom.” Koda began, pointing to the framed drawing. “It’s a drawing my Papa did, of my stuffed tiger Stripey, on the first day we… met. He was the first person to be nice to me in the orphanage and he gave… it to me as a pres-ent. I got my picture on… the same day that I met my Daddy and Papa and… we became a family. Everytime I go to bed, I can look at my picture and I remember how happy I was when I got it and how lucky I was to get chosen and that is why I wanted to show everyone today.”

Koda looked up, feeling extra pleased with himself that he had hadn’t messed up his lines and saw both Sarah and Dee covering their mouths, with tears rolling from their eyes. “Thankyou Koda, *ahem *, that was wonderful.” Miss Lime cleared her throat and gave a big toothy grin towards her student, getting a little choked up herself. The class gave a rousing round of applause as Koda took his picture frame in two hands and headed back to his seat, breathing a sigh of relief that his presentation had gone well.

When Connor picked Koda up from daycare, the excited little chatted his ear off the whole ride home, enthusiastically telling his Daddy about all the different things his classmates had brought in and letting him know how well Pearce’s advice had worked. “I pretended that I just told it to Gigi and then I wasn’t scared anymore!” He told forward from the backseat. “I’m so glad sweetie. When Papa finishes work, you can tell him how well he did.”

Even though they had had naptime at daycare, after all the excitement of the hectic day, Koda was starting to feel sleepy and Connor could tell that as he was changing Koda into a dry diaper, the little one had started to get a little grouchy. “I’ve been very busy with work _all_ day and I think Daddy needs a rest.” Connor said in a soft tone, setting up his plan. “Would my little man like to cuddle with me?” Smiling at Koda, he locked onto his deep dark orbs and got a gentle nod in reply.

The two had only been settled for a short while, when out of the blue, Pearce returned home early. “Hi guys I’m home!” He called out, buzzing from his rare early finish, but weirdly there was no response from the quiet house. “Hello? Anyone in?” Pearce called again into the silence. He didn’t have to look very hard for his missing boys as in the front room he came across Koda snuggled up in Connor’s lap, both fast asleep. “God, I’m a lucky man.” He chuckled, gazing down fondly at his sleeping pair.

Leaving them to snooze, Pearce was tidying Koda’s toys in the boy’s messy room, when his little man suddenly came upon him. “Papa!!” Koda yelled, surprised by his sudden appearance. After sliding off Connor’s lap, he was on his way to his room, to pick up a story in hopes that he could get his Daddy to read to him. Running into Pearce’s arms, he snuggled him tight. “Hi sleepy boy, did you have a good nap with Daddy?”

“Yeah, but I kinda didn’t mean to go sleep.” Koda then gave Pearce a confused and concerned look. “Papa? Did you run away from work?” The boy’s incredibly sweet and silly question, made Pearce’s heart swell. “No baby, I finished a little early… Oh! It was your show and tell today, wasn’t it? How did it go?” With his boy in his lap, Pearce gently bounced him as he listened to Koda tell him all about his show and tell.

When Koda hadn’t returned, Connor leapt up the stairs to see where he had got to. “Babe!?” He squeaked, equally surprised to find his husband in Koda’s room. “Hey you.” Pearce grinned. “I didn’t want to wake you, you two looked so comfy.” As he filled in his bemused husband, Koda suddenly remembered why he had come to his room in the first place. “Can we read a story now?” He asked sweetly, with a look that neither of his daddies could say no to. 

Even though it was their last day at daycare, before their whole week off, Friday seemed to race by in a blur. “Well boys and girls, I’m afraid it’s time to go home.” Miss Lime smiled, looking out over the dozen littles staring back at her. “I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday, I can’t wait to hear about all the wonderful things you get up to.”

“Bye Miss Lime, bye Miss Sarah, bye Miss Dee!” Koda called back as he headed outside. Bouncing happily into the carpark, he looked around for Connor’s metallic blue Audi, but it was nowhere to be seen. Before he had a chance to fret, his eyes caught sight of Pearce waving at him from the across the way and grinned, speeding off towards him. “Papa!”

“Hey buddy! Did you have a good day?” Catching the excited boy, Pearce held him in a tight cuddle. As he was buckling Koda into his seat, the little one looked next to him and saw his diaper bag and Ludlow sitting there waiting for him. “Where are we going?” He asked, starting to worry.

Pearce smiled sweetly and stroked Koda’s cheek. “We are going to go see Daddy sweetie, he bumped his foot, so had to get a doctor to make sure it’s okay. That’s why I picked you up instead.” He said calmly so as not to worry his boy. Seeing his boys mind turning he reached over and tucked Ludlow into his arms, not wanting to prolong his worry any longer than necessary. On the short drive, Koda stayed silent, still unsure about what was going on. 

“Is Daddy okay?” The little one asked in a hushed, frightened voice as Pearce unbuckled his seatbelt. He took Koda’s hand in his and lifted his chin, to meet the worried boy’s gaze. “He’s okay sweetie. You remember when you fell over in the garden and your ankle was sore so I put the cold ice on it?” Pearce explained with a smile, getting a nod in reply. “Well Daddy bumped his ankle and because he’s bigger, he needs to get a doctor to check it out for him.” He could see Koda’s worry begin to diminish, as he explained Connor wasn’t in any danger. With an encouraging rub to Koda’s knee, Pearce beamed a big smile. “How about we go see him, hm?”

Koda clutched Ludlow to his chest and held Pearce’s hand tightly as they made their way through the long white halls of the hospital. He watched the green and blue clad staff speeding around and slipping behind the flowing curtains, with a hint of fear. But those feelings were interrupted hearing Connor’s distinct laugh close by. They turned the corner and Connor was sat on the bed, sharing a chuckle with a middle aged nurse who was tending to him. “Daddy!” Koda cheeped, running forward.

“Hi sweetie, sorry I couldn’t come pick you up.” Connor said sheepishly, lifting Koda up to sit next to him on the bed. Pearce set the diaper bag down and shook his head at his clumsy husband. “So… How bad is it?” He asked, trying to gauge how long he would be out of action. 

Connor sucked in a breath and gave him an unsure look, remembering the crunch that accompanied his earlier fall. Just then, the doctor swooped through the curtain with Connor’s x-ray result. “Oh! Good afternoon, I’m Dr Allen.” The doctor smiled, greeting Pearce. “Aw, hello there little man, I like your friend.” He added, spotting Koda. But the little one came over all shy, hiding behind his bear and leaning into Connor’s side, making the adults chuckle. “Well, the good news is, it’s not broken.” Dr Allen told Connor, getting a sigh of relief from the couple. “But, there is a fracture. You will need to be in a cast.” 

Connor rubbed the back of his neck and quietly groaned. “How long for?” He asked, already rolling the worst case scenarios through his head. “Six weeks.” After the doctor swiftly left, Pearce dropped into the chair, folded his leg over, ready to hear how his injured spouse got himself in this situation. When he got the phone call that Connor had hurt himself, the line had cut off before he had got an explanation and with Koda’s pick up time closing in, he didn’t have a chance to call back. 

Connor brushed his fingers through his hair and smirked, remembering how everything had transpired. “Don’t laugh okay? I was listening to the radio like usual and… I was carrying the washing upstairs and I may or may not have been dancing a bit. Well okay, I was a little too exuberant and then, slip, bump, crunch I went.” Pearce tried to hold it in, but in doing so only amplified his loud chuckle. Connor stared at his husband in shock for a brief second, before the tickle was too much and a loud laugh burst from inside. Koda however, sat looking between the two feeling quite confused by their laughter. 

With a thick white cast now encasing his ankle, Connor limped his way from the car into the house. “God these crutches are going to take some getting used to.” He grumbled, bumping the clicking silvery sticks on just about every surface between the front door and the sofa as he plopped down on the plush cushions. Koda followed close behind his limping Daddy, with one thing on his mind. “Daddy?” He said softly. “Yes cutie pie?” Connor replied, still fumbling with his uncooperative crutches. “Can I sign your thingy?” Koda’s eyes were glued to the alluring rough white boot on his Daddy’s foot. “Sure you can, do you want to go grab your pens?” Before the words had even left Connor’s lips, Koda had sped off to his room.

On the drive home, Connor had downloaded an app on his phone that he thought would aid his recovery. With Pearce in the kitchen, he pulled his phone out and tapped the screen, sending out a bell dinging sound around the room. Pearce strolled into the room, looking very unimpressed. “That’s about ten times less funny that you think it is.” But taking on the role, he held one arm to his chest and slightly bowed. “Now then, how may I help you?” He said in a posh accent.

From being in considerable pain after his unfortunate fall hours earlier, to now lounging back on the plush sofa, with a freshly brewed coffee in his hand and his favourite boy colouring on his cast, Connor was feeling pretty good. “Finished!” Koda piped up, breaking the tranquil quiet. He had coloured a cute smiley face and written his name in capitals beside it, right on the front for all to see. “Thankyou baby, it looks lovely.” As Connor got a look at his boys cute drawing, he saw Koda itching to continue. “Sweetie? Do you want to colour some more?”

The next time Koda had finished, the majority of Connor’s cast was covered with brightly coloured drawings of animals, cars, sunshines, rainbows, smiley faces and bubbles. “Wow!” Pearce exclaimed, laying his eyes on Koda’s masterpiece. “I know right? Our little artist.” Connor beamed, adding his own praise to the increasingly shy boy. “Well, dinner is ready, but first I think I should help scrub those mucky paws.” Pearce grinned, Koda’s hands were a state, every finger had blotches of felt tip, of all different colours running into each other.

After a wonderful dinner, Koda stayed as close to Connor as he could, still feeling worried and shaken by what had transpired. “Alright buddy, I think it’s just about bath time hm?” Pearce said stretching his arms above his head. “No I stay with Daddy.” The boy replied quietly, holding onto Connors arm. The couple shared a knowing look and knew exactly what was going on. Pearce moved to the edge of the sofa, next to his boys and Connor turned to face Koda. “Sweetie, I know you’re worried. But I’m just fine.” He said with a soft smile, patting the boy’s hand. “It’s just a little ouchie on my foot, I’m going to be chasing after you in no time.” Pearce then leaned over and put his hand ontop of both Connor’s and Koda’s. “You don’t need to be scared sweetie. Daddy’s not going anywhere and neither am I.”

The trio cuddled together and Koda began to finally understand that this wouldn’t be like last time. Feeling more relaxed, Koda sat in the warm water surrounded by the mountains of bubbles and splashed with his toys, filling the room with sweet little giggles. It was a bit of a fight for Pearce to scrub Koda clean as the splashy little’s priorities were far from focused on getting clean.

Dried, padded and dressed in comfy flannel jammies, Koda bounded down the stairs to rejoin Connor on the sofa. “Did you have a nice bath little one?” Connor held his arms out, ready to slow his boy down, hearing the quiet dull thumps coming his way. “Yep!” Koda cheeped, letting Connor steer him onto the sofa. “Wha’s that?” Koda asked, spotting his name on an A4 folder on his Daddy’s lap.

Connor put one arm around the inquisitive boy and rapped the top of the folder with his nails. “Well, JJ is coming tomorrow, so me and Papa put this together for his story that he wants to write about you. But we wanted you to have your say too, so we thought we could show you the bits we put in and you could add anything you like.” He explained, watching Koda think hard as he remembered JJ’s idea.

Pearce then rejoined them, having needed a set of dry clothes after the bathing adventure. Together they laid out his basic history and all the information about him they had compiled, none of which was deemed too invasive, but would be enough to give JJ all the background he needed to sculpt his story. “But that stuff is boring.” Koda groaned, sending the two into a ripple of laughter. They tried to explain it was just research and that JJ would be coming up with the story, but Koda blinked blankly not quite understanding. “Can Ludlow be in the story?” Without wanting to confuse the little one any more, they took out a new sheet of paper and titled it ‘Koda’s Ideas’ in bold capitals along the top. Connor grinned, his pen at the ready as he leant back into the cushions. “Okay cutie pie, let’s write down everything you think would be good in your story.”


	6. Returns and Revelations

After the first night in his surprisingly annoying cast, Connor was thankful for the relaxed weekend ahead and the strong coffee Pearce had headed off to brew. “Daddy?” Koda shuffled sluggishly into their room, rubbing his tired eyes and climbed slowly onto the messy bed. “Good morning sweetie.” Connor beamed, pulling back the covers to invite his sleepy boy in for a cuddle. Pressing a noisy smooch to Koda’s head, he wrapped the boy in a snoozy snuggle and comfortably drifted off to sleep.

When Connor next opened his glued eyelids, Pearce was stood towelling his hair in their doorway having finished his morning shower. “Mmm… ur… did you ma *yawn * coffee?” He groaned, stretching an arm above his head and stroking his sleepy little boys shoulder.

Pearce chuckled and dropped the towel down to his side. “Babe that was more than an hour ago.” He told his lethargic husband, much to his shock. “I’ll go brew a fresh one.” Connor’s eyes widened, had he really dozed off for more than an hour? It felt so brief, yet at the same so peaceful. The addition of his sweet snuggly boy by his side and the comfort he brought was what had been missing for a good sleep.

However he suddenly became aware of his cuddly little boy and the morning diaper change that was most likely long overdue. “Shit!” He hissed, starting to get up, before the reality of his condition became crushingly clear. “Ow ow oww.” The sudden jolt to his cast sent a sharp pain right through Connor’s foot.

Koda wriggled on the comforting smelling bed and blinked his big shining eyes away. “Daddy?” He breathed quietly. “Hi baby boy. We need to get you changed.” Connor said in a soft warming voice. “Can you help Daddy by walking for me?” He asked, reaching for the silver crutches he was already beginning to feel tethered to. The little one flipped over and bounced off the bed, taking the lead.

“Okay… here we go.” Connor slowly made his way into Koda’s room, coming to rest infront of the cushioned changing table. Balancing on one foot, he leaned his crutches to one side and helped Koda up on top. “Oh sweetie… You are sopping.” Connor spoke in a hushed voice, feeling awful for leaving his boy so long.

The sudden cold sensation on Koda’s bare skin made him squeak loudly. “Sorry sweetie, it’s just a little cream, so you don’t get a sore bum.” Connor explained, wobbling slightly as he balanced on his good foot. When he had finished taping Koda into his comfy white diaper, Pearce joined them just in time to lift their boy to his feet. “Wooooo, there’s my buddy, let’s get you dressed for the day, hm?” Pearce helped Koda into a cute, stripey long-sleeve shirt and jogging bottoms, freeing Connor to limp back to their room and get his long awaited coffee.

With his foot propped up on a plump cushion, Connor watched on with a twinge of envy as Pearce played dinosaurs with their boy, still smiling as they trotted the plastic toys around together. A buzzing from his pocket, let him know JJ was inbound and only minutes later there was a light tapping on the front door.

Hearing the knock, Koda reacted as if a bolt of lightning zapped him to his feet and with a loud gasp, raced to the front door. “I- get it!” He yelled. Opening up the door he saw JJ’s beaming smile and leapt into his waiting arms. “JJ!!” He squeaked in a loud high pitched yell. “Hey mini-man! Oohohoho!” JJ caught Koda and twirled him around, before holding him on his hip and taking his first step into the family’s new home. Striding into the living room, JJ was greeted by a grinning Pearce who was stood waiting. “Well, well… look at this place man!” Glancing through at the open plan kitchen and taking in the size of the new living room, JJ was impressed by what he saw, before then being drawn to something he hadn’t bargained on finding. “Woah, Con?! What did you do?”

Pearce laughed remembering his husband’s explanation as Connor covered his eyes from embarrassment. “I… er… had a misadventure on the stairs.” He said, clearing his throat. “Daddy was dancing and fell.” Their boy’s unwavering honesty turned Connor’s face a crimson blush. “Why… er… don’t you get Koda to give you a guided tour?” Connor said without looking up, trying desperately to divert the attention away.

Luckily his idea sparked Koda into action and he wriggled from JJ’s grasp. “Yeah! Let me show you everythin’!” The second his spotty socked feet touched down, he grabbed hold of JJ’s hand and pulled him through to the kitchen. “This is where we eat and bake and stuff.” Koda paused briefly, looking around the room to see if there was anything else worth letting his friend know about, before tugging JJ towards the tall glass doors. “Oh oh! This is the garden look!” Koda bolted outside, running in an arc across the plush grass. “This is Papa’s shed.” He grinned, bouncing up and down infront of the light wooden structure. “He keeps the lawnmower and stuff inside.”

In his excited state, Koda darted from one place to the next, barely allowing JJ to process his words before he charged ahead to his next point of interest. “This is our big tree! Papa said he’s going to cut down some branches soon!” The overexcited boy patted the rough bark as he gave the tree a gentle hug. JJ looked over the rest of the garden, at how everything was tidy and trimmed, but he noticed it was lacking in one main area, there were no toys for a little one to enjoy.

Before being able to dwell on that thought, Koda grabbed his hand and pulled him back inside, this time passing straight through the kitchen to the big inviting livingroom. “This is my playmat an’ my dinosaurs, but they’re sleepin’ right now… And there is the TV and that’s Papa’s chair and that’s the comfy sofa and that’s the bookcase.” Still holding hands, Koda pointed with his free hand to his favourite parts of the room in a nonsensical, unorganised order. Pearce was just about to tell JJ about Connor’s plans to paint, but before a single word had time to leave his lips, Koda pulled him out the door, to continue his whirlwind tour.

Koda showed off Connor’s work space, Pearce’s prized garage (albeit from the doorway as he knew he shouldn’t go inside without permission) and the washing room in quick succession, before steering the tour upstairs, to where he really wanted to go.

“This is Daddy and Papa’s room.” The little one said, pointing through the doorway, but not going inside. “This it the warm cupboard where the hot water comes from.” Standing on the landing Koda spun in a circle and pointed to out the rest of his tour. “That’s bathroom. Oh that room at the end is the ‘nother bedroom, but no-one sleeps in there.” With everything else _briefly_ covered, the speedy little headed into the main event. “And this is the bestest room!” He gleamed, spinning around with his arms held out.

Downstairs, Pearce was enjoying a cuddle with his injured soldier when something occurred to him. “They’ve been upstairs a long time haven’t they?” First listening for sounds, he decided it would be best to investigate as it was time for lunch. When Pearce reached the top of the stairs, he saw Koda had pulled out every single toy and teddy to show JJ, covering the entire floor with his much loved possessions. “Hey guys, sorry to break up your fun, but it’s lunchtime now and someone needs changing.”

“Good I’m starving! See you in a minute.” JJ chuckled, ruffling Koda’s hair as carefully tiptoed over the array of toys, not wanting to tread on anything on his way downstairs. “Are you getting hungry little one?” Pearce asked, swooping the boy up onto the changing table.

“A little bit…” Koda said, feeling unsure. “Is Daddy’s foot going to be better tomorrow?” He asked sweetly. “Hmmm, I don’t think so buddy, not quite yet. Why tomorrow?” Pearce fumbled through the diaper change, replacing the sodden pad with a comfortable dry ABU Simple. “I wanted to go to’a park...” Koda said quietly, rubbing his eye as his earlier exuberance was catching up to him. “Oh, well we can still go sweetie.” Pearce smiled, helping him into his little man back into his trousers. “But won’t Daddy be sad if he misses out?” His innocent statement, stopped Pearce in his tracks for a moment. He lifted his adorable boy into his arms and told him Connor would just be happy to know he was enjoying himself.

After muddling his way through two thirds of his sandwich, Koda began pushing his lunch around the plate. Pearce and Connor shared a look, knowing their boy was finished with his food and slowing down. “Come sit with Papa for a minute.” Pulling the light boy over with ease, Pearce wrapped a protective arm around and felt Koda melt into his chest. While the adult friends chatted and joked, the little one’s head bowed lower and lower, until he was nearly out. “Back in a minute.” Pearce whispered, taking his boy upstairs for a much needed rest.

“I don’ want to sleeeeeep.” Koda whined, in a desperate attempt to fight his Papa’s decision. “It’s just for a few minutes little one, I promise you won’t miss anything okay?” Koda looked up at Pearce and saw the honesty shining through as his tiredness quashed any resistance he was thinking of putting up.

The three adults spent a long time playing with Koda, from board games to hide and seek and anything that made the happy boy smile. JJ had taken notes about different cute things Koda had done and as they were playing together, had a flurry of different ideas to include in his story. But the most important thing to JJ, was he and Koda had reconnected just as before. As if he needed any proof, when the night wore on and it was time for him to head home, the sleepy boy gave him a very sweet and lengthy goodbye cuddle. JJ was taken aback for a moment, before smiling and holding the warm boy. “It’s so good to see you again Mini-man.” JJ said quietly, gently rubbing the back of Koda’s head. “Have a good nights rest buddy, we’ve got a fun week ahead.”

It wasn’t until Sunday that Koda found a note left by Miss Lime in his backpack, for a toy collection they were doing for charity and she had invited everyone to gift one or more toys to a children’s hospital. He read through, getting quite excited at the idea and ran with the leaflet fluttering, to tell Daddy the good news. “Daddy Daddy!” Koda yelled, pushing the paper into his hand. “Can I donate? Pleeeease?”

Still being early, Connor wasn’t quite fully awake, having only just made in down the stairs with his annoyingly uncooperative crutches and not yet consumed his mandatory morning caffeine boost. “Huh? Er.. I.. what’s this?” Connor still hadn’t got the hang of sleeping with his cast and had endured another awful nights sleep.

Pearce appeared a lot fresher faced and scooped Koda into the air. “Rrraawwrrr! The Papa monster’s got youuu!” Koda erupted in a loud squealing fit of giggles as Pearce sat his little one on his hip. “Now then, what were you telling Daddy about?”

Taking his boy with him to the kitchen, Pearce employed him to help make some tasty breakfast, to give Connor a chance to wake up. Koda got to mix the eggs together in the tall standing jug, while Pearce took the piping hot coffee to Connor. “Papa? Do we put the ham in now?” Koda’s eyes never left the sizzling hot pan as Pearce cooked. “Yep! And the cheese goes in too, Mm-Mm-mmm!”

When it was ready, Koda helped dish the omelette onto three plates and then insisted on carrying the tray through to Connor, to present their work. “Go careful buddy.” Pearce reminded the beaming boy as he handed the tray to him, before following close behind, ready to step in if needed. “Daddy!” Koda sung, keeping his eyes on the tray as he tried to keep it level. The little one, slowly made it across the floor and held the tray out to his Daddy. “Wow, thankyou baby boy. It looks fantastic!” Connor reached forward and planted a thankyou kiss to his boy’s forehead. Before getting his own, Koda watched to see if Connor enjoyed their culinary efforts. “Mmm! Very tasty, good job sweetie.”

With a tasty breakfast preparing them for the day, Koda and Pearce got themselves ready to go to the park. With his brown boots tied and bright blue coat zipped up, Koda stood infront of Connor with a look of longing. “Sweetie, I’ll be fine, I promise.” Connor gave a sympathetic smile and stroked Koda’s hand as he reassured him. With his promise sealed, Pearce led their boy off to the playpark.

It was a very relaxed couple of hours for Connor at home, with the soothing music coming from the radio slowly lulling him into a peaceful sleep. However that peace was soon shattered by the return of his boys. “PB&J! PB&J! PB&J! PB&JAAAYYYY!” Koda’s loud chanting, roused Connor from his slumber with a chuckle and the excited boy came racing into the room, leaping onto the sofa next to him. “Someone’s ready for lunch are they?”

Connor clicked his way into the kitchen and set about making Koda his favourite sandwich for lunch, when he was joined by Pearce. “Mmm hey beautiful.” He whispered, stroking his hand over Connor’s back and leaning in to smooch his cheek. “That looks good, can I get one too?”

“You know what? I was just thinking the same thing!” Connor laughed, reaching for the packet of bread. All three sat in the kitchen together, enjoying their sticky sweet sandwiches as Pearce filled Connor in about the children’s charity collection that Koda tried to mention earlier.

Pearce stood with his arm around Koda at the boy’s bedroom door. “Okay you have a little look, see if there’s anything you would like to donate and I’ll see if we have a box.” With an assertive nod, Koda headed straight for his toy box. At the back of the wardrobe, Pearce found a modest sized shoebox that he thought would be perfect and took it back to show Koda. “Here buddy I found a…. woah woah! Sweetie!? What’s all this!?” It had only been a matter of minutes but Koda had amassed a mountain of toys in the middle of his room.

Koda proudly stood over his mound and beamed a toothy grin at Pearce. “To donate to the chi’dren at’a hospital!” He said gleefully, holding his arms out. Pearce was utterly flabbergasted, his thoughtful boy was prepared to give away what looked like the majority of his toys to the worthy cause, without batting an eye. Staring for a moment at the pile, Pearce quickly spotted at least half a dozen of what he knew to be Koda’s favourite toys. “Buddy… This is your remote control car, you love racing your car. Don’t you want it anymore?” Pearce said, lifting it free from the pile. Koda looked up with his wide dark eyes and nodded. “I really like my racing car Papa, it’s so fun! But someone else might like it too.”

Pearce sat on the edge of Koda’s bed and sat him on his knee. “You have such a kind heart little one… and while that is very sweet, I think Papa is going to have to make the decisions for you. If you give everything away, you won’t have anything to play with on your week off.” Making light of the situation, he pressed a kiss to Koda’s head. “Go cuddle Daddy and I’ll bring the box down in a few minutes to show you.” He patted his rear, sending him speeding off downstairs, while he dealt with Koda’s toy situation.

Putting Koda’s toys back took Pearce a lot longer than he planned, but after a lot of work, he had picked the few he was willing to donate. Selecting a mix of toys and books that Koda had either tired of or forgotten about. While showing his choices to Koda, he filled his husband in on what Koda had first tried to give away. “Aww! Koda! You’re such a cutie pie!” Connor gushed. For the rest of the day, Koda was showered with cuddles and affection from the loving parents, but wasn’t quite sure what he had done to deserve all the loving attention.

When the beginning of the week came around, Koda wanted to fit in as much with JJ as he possibly could. The excited boy wanted it to be just like it used to be, with JJ’s signature puzzles and games high on his list. What Koda didn’t realise, was JJ was also planning to reconnect to their old routine and had planned quite the week for his little friend.

Monday JJ took Koda on an outing, to kick off their week together, to a royal botanical garden. Picking up his teacher role once more, made JJ happier than even his charge. It fell into place so fluidly, like they had never been away from each other. Koda was quick to learn, soaking up the knowledge ever more rapidly than JJ remembered, another positive influence from his time at daycare.

“You, my young padawan, are getting smarter everyday.” JJ smirked, hugging his beaming buddy. Being out for so long, while a lot of fun, had two downsides. First Koda had to be changed in the family bathroom which wasn’t as comfy as home and the second downside was that Koda missed naptime. “We’ll just change you quick, then we’ll head back okay?” JJ could tell the little one was slowing down and diverted them to the reception area.

“Don’t want t’change here.” He grumbled, staring at his shoes as he shuffled along. JJ stroked Koda’s shoulders, feeling sorry for the sleepy boy. “I know mini-man, we’ll be in and out, quick as can be, I promise.” Accepting JJ’s promise, Koda held back his urge to sulk and went along with his friend. On the ride home JJ was chatting and keeping his eyes on the road, but when they next stopped at a red light, he checked next to him and found exactly why Koda wasn’t replying, with his head drooped forward and eyes closed, the little one couldn’t quite make it home.

  
  


JJ waited until Wednesday to bring up the story once more. “So Mini-man, I’ve heard all about your friends and daycare, would you be able to talk to me about your past? Like what was it like, when you were growing up?”JJ leaned forward with a smile, expecting a big long speech from his buddy. But instead Koda quietly stood and in a fluid motion, left, heading upstairs. Hearing the light squeak of his bedroom door being pushed up, JJ turned to Connor with a puzzled look. “He does that when he’s upset… I should go check on him.” Connor said quietly, standing with his silver crutches.

Clicking up the stairs, Connor paused at the entrance to his boys room to call ahead. “Sweetie? Can Daddy come inside?” He said softly, through the hand width gap. Koda slowly opened up the door and nodded, before hastily retreating to the trio of stuffed friends he had sat on his super fluffy circular carpet. Connor eased himself down onto the end of Koda’s bed and gently patted his boy’s dark jet hair. “Will you sit with me for a minute little one?” With a bowed head, Koda knew his loving parent was about to ask a hard question, that he didn’t particularly want to answer. Rubbing smooth circles on the boys back, Connor pressed a gentle kiss to his temple. “It’s okay Sweetie, could you tell me why JJ’s question made you upset?”

Cuddling Koda, Connor tried to make him as relaxed as possible, while he waited patiently for his boy’s answer. It took a few minutes to muster up his courage, but slowly Koda lifted his head and leaned into Connor’s warmth. “I didn’ wan’ to… talk about… a long time ago because it’s sad.” He said in a hushed whisper, only loud enough for his Daddy to hear. Secured in Connor’s bear hug, Koda felt comfortable enough to confess some secrets he had carried on his shoulders alone for a very long time. Never before had Koda bonded with someone as deeply and purely as both of his daddies and as he revealed some of his deepest, hurtful memories, a single tear ran silently down Connor’s cheek.

Connor wanted to weep, he wanted to wrap his boy in the tightest cuddle and never let go. But instead, simply sucked in a breath, discreetly wiped his tear and kissed the top of Koda’s head. “Daddy loves you very very much, my sweet boy.”

After a snuggly twenty minutes, Connor dotingly changed Koda’s diaper and lifted the, now smiley boy into his arms once more. “I will _always_ keep you safe Koda.” He breathed, sealing his promise with a kiss to his boy’s cheek. While Connor felt the sadness sitting inside, Koda was back to his bouncy self, having lifted a lasting heavy burden off his shoulders and ready to rejoin their friend downstairs.

“Hey guys!” JJ cheered, seeing Koda coming back in smiling. “Is everything okay?” JJ mouthed over to Connor, when he settled in his spot on the sofa. Even though Connor nodded, JJ could tell by his eyes there was something dwelling on his mind. Leaving his story for another time, JJ pulled out a surprise he had been saving in his bag. “Close your eyes Mini-man.” He told him with a knowing smirk. Laying the pristine box on the ground infront of Koda, JJ peered at his covered eyes to make sure there wasn’t any peeking. “Okay, open ‘em!”

Pulling his hands away, Koda gasped. “Woooww! A new ji’saw?!” He cheeped in a high pitched squeal. “Yep! And this one is even trickier, 500 pieces.” JJ told him with widened eyes. “Butttt, I think a smart boy like you can handle it no sweat.” He added, leaning back with a caring smile.

“Daddy! Look!” The excited boy practically gleamed as he called out to Connor on the sofa. Coming to terms with Koda’s revelation, Connor was feeling better and seeing that shining face beam up at him, all was right. “I know! Aren’t you lucky Sweetie? Do you think JJ deserves a thankyou cuddle?” He smiled back, cocking his head. Koda’s expression changed to a shocked gasp, like the sudden realization flicked a switch. He clambered up, jumping over the jigsaw box and leapt into JJ’s arms, knocking him over in the process. “Thankyou!!” He bellowed, sending the three of them into a full force giggle.

By the time Pearce got home, an hour and a half later. Koda had his new puzzle spread out all over the floor and had almost one edge completed. “Hi everyone, wow! What’s this?” Pearce stopped dead in his tracks, looming over the tiny pieces on the floor. “Hi Papa! JJ brought a super big ji’saw!” The excited boy replied, treading on the pieces as he clambered to cuddle.

After greeting everyone in turn, Pearce excused himself to get changed and Connor scrambled to follow. “I’ll join you.” Reading the situation and seeing Koda watch his daddies leave, JJ diverted the boy’s attention back to the jigsaw, swiping up two pieces Koda was looking for. “Hey Mini-man, I think these might fit.” Handing over the jig’s to Koda, JJ gave Connor a knowing wink.

Upstairs, Pearce whistled as he tossed his smart shirt into the washing basket. “How’s your foot doing Babe?” He called from their on-suite, but getting only a noise in reply, he poked his head around the door frame. “Babe, what’s wrong?” Connor was slumped on the end of the bed with his head in his hands. Pearce wrapped him in a protective hug and laid back on the bed with his emotional man.

Safe in his lovers arms, Connor took in a calming breath and emptied his heavy heart. “We were doing the story with Koda and asked about what it was like growing up.” Connor swallowed hard, feeling the lump build in his throat. “Well he got up and went straight to his room to hide, so I followed to make sure he was okay. Then while cuddling him, I asked why he hid and he said because thinking about his past makes him sad, so I didn’t push any further and just held him.” Connor paused to gather himself and clear his throat, while Pearce stayed silent, simply stroking Connor’s arm. “It was like he needed to get it off his chest… and his voice was just so sad… He said his parents dumped him at an orphanage and told him they didn’t love him anymore. Everyone at the orphanage picked on him because he was small and weak, I mean they singled him out and everything. He said how they would lock him in cupboards and laugh and scare him any chance they got. They would… They… w… expose his wet diapers and get everyone to laugh at him as just another way to humiliate my poor boy. They destroyed his toys and everything he cared about and he said… that he thought no-one would ever love or want him and he wished that he wouldn’t wake up anymore.” Tears rolled down the couples cheeks as Connor spoke. “But then you sat at his table…” Connor’s voice broke and cracked at that last statement and the two quietly weeped together.

They had feared about Koda’s past since first seeing the shy withdrawn boy and had vowed never to ask him to reveal any of the undoubtedly sad memories he held inside. Pearce clung tightly to his husband as he processed the secrets Koda had divulged. “I love that boy so damn much.”

Pearce sniffed hard, wiped his eyes and jumped to his feet. “Right, come on!” He announced in a chipper voice. “Huh?” Connor mumbled, looking very confused. “I don’t know about you, but I could do with a snuggly cuddle with our boy.” Pearce’s infectious smile, lifted Connor straight out of his sad slump.

Downstairs, JJ had packed up the jigsaw and was sat watching one last episode of Paw Patrol with his little buddy before it was time for him to head home. “Alright Mini-man, I will see you tomorrow. I’ve got some fun things planned, so get a good sleep tonight, okay? Can I get a hug?”

The next day, because of the upset the day before, JJ had a feast of surprises to spoil Koda rotten. One of which required Koda to be out of the house while it was being setup and so his main surprise was to be their second outing of the week. “Let’s see…” JJ smiled, stroking his chin. “Shoes? Check… Diaper bag? Check… Smelly socks? Check!” The excited boy erupted in a loud giggle and bounced on the spot. “I don’t have smelly socks!” He cheeped while laughing. “Are you sure?” JJ smirked, cocking his head. He hoisted Koda up and spun him upsidedown, holding him securely with one strong arm. “We’re going to head off.” He told Connor, with Koda dangling and giggling as he reached his fingers out to touch the carpet.

“What on…?!” Connor stared at his inverted boy and shook his head at his friend. “Put him down before he wriggles free.” He laughed. “Have you got the packed lunch?” Knowing of their trip, Connor had prepared Koda’s favourite for them to take with them, peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwiches, with a little extra sticky sweet jam, along with a fruit salad and neatly sliced veggie sticks.

“Yep, all packed.” JJ said, setting the still giggling boy back on his feet. “The er… thing, will be between 11 and 12.” He added, widening his eyes to hint at Connor. Koda however, wasn’t paying the slightest attention to JJ being secretive, he was far too excited about their outing.

Knowing Koda’s love of animals of all kinds, JJ was taking his little buddy to the aquarium. “We have to goooooo! We need t’see the turtles!” Koda whined, jumping impatiently on the spot. Connor grinned, feeling such affection for his little man and held him arms out. “Alright. Kiss before you go.” He beamed, inviting Koda in. “Be good Sweetie, have a good time you two!” No sooner had Connor let the boy go, he sped off towards the door yelling out. “Love you Daddy!” As he disappeared down the hallway.

On the short journey, Koda got even more excited and had many questions for his friend. “Will there be sharks? Oh! What about Mr ray? Can we take pictures there too? How many fishes will they have? OH! Will we be able to touch the rays? I saw on TV they got to touch them to say hello.” Thankfully they soon arrived and the relentless string of questions were replaced with little squeaks from the very excited boy.

Clinging tightly to JJ’s hand, Koda strolled through the huge arched opening, into the dimmed walkway. A shimmering blue hue welcomed them to the first deep tank, with it’s large rocky mounds of stacked coral, creating an underwater mountain range for the colourful fish to race through. “Woah…” Koda breathed, his eyes widening to take in the enormity of colours and movement before him. Fish of all different shapes and sizes moved together through the water in swift controlled lines.

Thy slowly moved through the many different exhibits of fish and sea creatures, stopping at every glass cove to peek in at the wonders inside. Some tanks had an abundance of plant life swaying in the slow currents, with fish hiding in the green undergrowth. The overstimulated boy wasn’t ready to move on, until he had managed to spot one of every animal that the accompanying boards informed him were hiding inside. “JJ, this says these are piranhas!” Koda squeaked, waggling his finger at the slow turning, red bellied fish. “Yep, very sharp teeth. Can you see that one has it’s mouth open a little.” JJ replied, pointing to one of the closer piranhas. Koda’s eyes gleamed as he closed in on the pointy white teeth, letting out a gasp of amazement.

As they moved even deeper into the aquarium, Koda spotted the telltale open tank that signalled the rays were near. Grabbing onto JJ’s hand once again, he pulled him forward to the wooden lip around the edge of the wide circular tank. “Quick! They’re going t’feed the rays!” He squeaked spotting the full buckets being collected by the attendants.

After the feeding of the amazing rippled creatures, the next tank caught Koda’s eye for a very different reason. A school of tiny neon tetra, whose blue colour shone brightly under the tanks lights and amazed the excited little. “Wow, they’re so pretty!” Koda whispered, looking upon them with glee.

They ventured onwards into the intimidatingly named ‘Shark Cove’, pushing through the heavy doors to enormous underwater tunnel. Immediately after walking in, a long 5 foot monster of the deep swam overhead of the pair. The incredibly sizeable habitat seemed to incorporate every colour of coral and all the other plant life they had seen in previous tanks. With an array of fish flowing between pointed spines, the black tipped predators prowled above. “How many teeths do sharks have?” Koda asked curiously as he gazed up above. JJ put his arm around Koda as he followed the beasts swimming in the tank. “I think these ones have about fifty. But the big scary ones, like great whites have about 300!” He told his inquisitive friend. “Wow…” Koda breathed, gazing into the blue abyss.

With their tour drawing to a close, there was one more exhibit to visit and as they moved closer, Koda let out a series of excited squeaks, spotting the swimming reptiles. “TURTLES!” Staring through the curved thick glass, Koda’s dark orbs locked onto a large turtle swimming out in the murky blue. “It’s coming this way!” With JJ’s arm around his shoulder, Koda watched as the graceful turtle slowly came closer, it’s large flippers propelling it through the water. The curious reptile came up close to the glass and made a slow pass by the two friends, much to the amazement of the little one. “Woah.”

They headed into the giftshop and while looking at all the fun games and books on offer, JJ nudged his buddy and held out a soft stuffed turtle infront of him. “What do y’think?” He whispered. Taking the soft turtle plush into his hands, Koda stared at the patterned markings on the shell as he felt the soft fuzz. “He looks just like the one we saw!” He said in a high pitched excited peep.

That was all it took to seal the deal and after their purchase, there was just one place left to visit before they left. Koda didn’t really like getting his diaper changed when he was out and about, because nowhere was as comfy as his setup back home. But in the aquarium as he laid on the long changing table, there were sounds of soothing music playing and a visual feast of flowing lights dancing on the ceiling to distract him while he was cleaned up.

Sitting in the car, while Koda cuddled his new soft stuffed turtle, JJ was trying hard not to grin as he read Connor’s text. “Okay Mini-man, ready to head back?” He asked, slipping his phone away. With an adorable smile, Koda nodded and pressed his new stuffie to his cheek. After his fantastic trip out, Koda was floating and couldn’t wait to show his Daddy his turtle and all the pictures they had taken.

As soon as JJ unbuckled his seatbelt, Koda ran straight through the open front door, steering straight into the livingroom where he expected Connor to be. “Huh?” The little screeched to a halt, feeling very confused as to why Connor wasn’t in his spot. “In here Sweetie!” A voice called from the kitchen. Turning on his heel, the speedy boy bolted into the kitchen and thudded into Connor’s open arms. “Hi baby boy! Did you have fun?”

“It was so much fun! We saw turtles an’ sharks an’ Nemo an’ rays an’ penguins too! And look what I got!” Koda cheeped excitedly and shoved his new turtle friend into Connor’s hand. Just as Koda showed Connor his stuffed toy, JJ walked in and swiftly walked back out again, earning a raised eyebrow from his friend. “Where do you think you’re going?” Connor called after him.

JJ slunk back in and chuckled seeing Connor’s disapproving look. “What? You say no to that face.” Connor shook his head and smiled. “I don’t have to, that’s why I have Pearce.” While the two friends chuckled together, the happy boy spotted something strange out of the kitchen window. Connor signalled to JJ and let him unveil his surprise. “So, Mini-man. While we were having fun today, I had something delivered just for you.”

Covering Koda’s eyes, JJ carefully walked him out into the garden and stood him right infront of the large netted structure. “Okay… Open ‘em up!” JJ cheered, taking a step back. “Woah! A trampoline!?” The excited boy squeaked. Koda was completely surprised, turning in a daze to give JJ a thankyou squeeze. “Give it a try!”

As Koda clambered up the steel step and rolled onto woven canvas, Connor clicked his way onto the patio and joined JJ, to watch his boy bounce. Pulling himself to his feet, Koda gently moved, testing the big springy circle underfoot. “I’s really bouncy!” He called out to his waiting crowd, with a cute little giggle. In no time at all, Koda was springing up high and bouncing like a champion, completely besotted by the new addition. As the afternoon crossed to the evening, Connor had to head inside to deal with some work emails and ordering and JJ headed home, his fingers itching to write down the multitude of story ideas swimming in his mind.

When Pearce returned from the office, Koda was still bouncing away with unrelenting energy, despite skipping naptime all together. “Pa..Pa! Lo… ok… it’s… a… tram… po… line!” With a jolting voice, Koda called out, spotting Pearce through the kitchen window as he bounced high. Peering through the glass, Pearce had forgotten all about the surprise, even though he read the earlier message, so seeing Koda appear and then fall out of sight was very funny to the worn out man. Poking his head out of the patio doors, he beamed a big smile at Koda. “Hey buddy, wow! It looks like you’re having fun!” He darted off to speak to Connor and was very surprised to learn he had been on it non-stop since getting home from the aquarium.

“Sweetie? Do you need a change? Come let Papa check you.” Pearce called to the bouncing boy. “Nooo I’m dry.” Koda retorted, beaming as he bounced up and down. Pearce however, wasn’t so quick to be sent away, it had been quite a while since he had been changed and even though his trampoline was a lot of fun, he didn’t want Koda to get a rash. “I need to check please buddy.” Pearce’s calm tone, persuaded Koda down from his new obsession. He gently tugged Koda’s jogging bottoms down just enough to expose the padded bulk beneath. “Okay soggy pup, quick change, then you can get back to bouncing.”

Upstairs, Pearce had his hands full trying to keep Koda still so he could get him changed. “Someone is a bundle of energy today huh?” He chuckled, quickly dropping Koda’s diaper in the pail. Because of the long time since Koda’s last change, Pearce paid extra attention to the cleaning and added a thick layer of the cool cream to Koda’s soft skin.

After being given the all clear, Koda barrelled down the carpeted stairs and headed straight back to the garden. “Daddy!” He squeaked, surprised to see Connor relaxing in one of the patio chairs. “Hey cutie pie! I finished my work, so I thought I’d come keep you company as you play.” Connor said with a smile.

Pearce flipped fluidly around the kitchen to whip up a tasty dinner, all the while watching Koda bounce through the window. Just as the sun dipped low in the sky and the night chill swooped in, Pearce called his boys inside for dinner. “I really like the garden now.” Koda confessed, pushing a very saucy piece of chicken into his mouth. Connor gave his husband a wink and a smile, they had been thinking for some time about how to make their garden more ‘Koda friendly’ and so when JJ told them he had brought the trampoline, their problem went away without needing to think of a solution.

With dinner cleared away, Pearce scooped up his messy boy and carried him under his arm upstairs for a much needed bath. “Papa!” The little chuckled, his legs dangling like a tree branch in the wind. Swishing the sweet smelling water, Pearce turned and nearly burst out laughing, Koda was stood in the doorway, having stripped off everything he was wearing, leaving only his diaper and one spotty sock left. “Is it ready?” He grinned, wanting to feel the comforting warmth and play with his array of rubbed ducks that sat on the edge waiting for him. “Almost buddy. You missed a sock.” Pearce pointed, wrinkling his mouth as he held his laughter inside. Looking surprised, Koda dropped onto his padded rear with a poofy crinkle and grabbed at his sock with both hands.

It had been almost a week since Connor’s accident and since then, he hadn’t been on bath duty and was beginning to miss the sight of his giggling boy, splashing around with his jet black hair clinging to his forehead. But today he was determined to join in the fun and leaving his crutches at the bottom of the stairs, he slowly climbed up one by one. “Surprise!” He called, poking his head around the doorframe, just as Pearce lifted Koda into the bubbly water. “Daddy!”

“Hey you!” Pearce added, grinning at Connor’s sudden appearance. “Here, come sit.” He gestured, pushing the small wooden stall across the slick lino floor. “Thanks.” Connor said with a wink to his caring man. Pointing his cast to the opposite wall, Connor did his best to keep it dry, while he assisted in bathing the notorious splasher. The busy day of bouncing was beginning to catch up to their little one and with the warm relaxing water around him, he was a lot more reserved than he usually was at bathtime. With that though, he became a lot more pliable and between them, the parents had Koda washed and freshened up in no time.

Pulling the plug free, the thirsty plughole drank the bubbly water down in long deep slurps as the drowsy boy sat on Connor’s knee wrapped in a fluffy white towel. “Almost done buddy.” Pearce told him, gently rubbing his sopping hair. Connor steadied his wobbly boy and wondered if letting him skip naptime was okay after all.

While Pearce taped Koda into a fresh comfy diaper, the little one stretched his arms above his head and gazed up affectionately at his Papa. “Can we have cuddle time now?” He asked sweetly. Unfolding Koda’s cute puppy printed pyjamas, Pearce smiled back at his boy. “Sure we can sweetie.”

Snuggled up on the sofa, the little trio flicked on Moana for the evenings movie, but the very sleepy boy rolled to his side and closed his eyes after the first ten minutes. Connor ran his fingers through Koda’s drying hair and leant his head back onto Pearce’s shoulder. “I don’t think we’ll skip naptime again.” He chuckled. Pearce ran his finger over Koda’s cheek and smiled. “I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did. I’ll take him up in a bit.”

The two sat watching the movie, with Koda sleeping across both their laps, for a blissful half hour, before they had to relent and put their little one to bed. “Up we go little one.” Pearce said softly, lifting Koda up into his arms. The grouchy boy groaned and grumbled as he was uprooted. “Mrrr… Daddy come too.” He croaked, rubbing the tired sting from his eye. With a beaming grin, Connor swiftly stood from the sofa, feeling very validated. “I’m coming Sweetie.”

When they checked Koda, they found him a little wet and decided to change him for his long comfortable sleep ahead, but the grumpy boy had other ideas. “Nuuuu!” He whined, rolling to his side as Pearce laid him down. “Shh Sweetie, it’s okay.” Connor stepped up and tried to soothe his sleepy boy by gently stroking his hair. “Papa will be very quick, little one.” Connor offered his restless boy his paci and saw the immediate calm take effect.

Pearce worked rapidly, adding the cooling cream, a cloud of powder and sticking the two large tapes in place. “There you are my sweet boy.” Lifting him up with ease, Pearce laid him down in his comfy cosy bed and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. Connor then knelt beside the sleepy boy and added his own goodnight kiss. “Sleep well Sweetie, we love you lots and lots.” He whispered, brushing his thumb over Koda’s soft cheek. As they slowly headed out, a quiet mumbled “Luff ‘ou.”, came from the dark behind them, making both grin with glee.


	7. Bear and Repair

A single bird sat on the swaying branch outside Koda’s window and sang it’s morning chorus as the night began to fade into light. Even though it was far too early to be awake, the little one smacked his tacky lips together and sat up in his cosy bed. “Thirsty…” He mumbled, slowly standing up. The house was very quiet, aside from a squirting rush coming from the boiler as it came to life automatically. Koda poked his head around the doorframe to his daddies bedroom and saw the two still figures fast asleep. He let out a big yawn and plonked down on his padded rear, on the very top of the stairs, then slowly bumped down one step at a time, all the way down.

Reaching the foot of the stairs, Koda padded his way into the kitchen. The morning light bled through the large windows lighting his way through to the sink. Taking a small glass that was sat on the sideboard, Koda turned on the tap, but it came gushing out too fast, spraying water out of the glass and all over the side. “Ah! Oh no!” The surprised little one squeaked, shutting the tap off quickly. “Oopsie.” Koda hummed, looking at the large puddle of water he had made. Finishing the water that made it into the glass, he set it down and tiptoed back upstairs to bed.

Humming to himself, Pearce bounced silently down the stairs having freshened up in his morning shower, to brew their morning java. Turning on the coffee machine, Pearce turned to the sink and came across Koda’s little accident. “Heh heh, looks like someone got out of bed.” He chuckled, wiping up the splashed water and washing the small glass.

Sipping his own drink, he savoured the warmth and let out a relaxed sigh, before taking his husbands upstairs to him. “Here Babe.” Pearce said in a hushed voice, placing the drink on Connor’s bedside table and leaning down, to smooch his sleepy husbands cheek. Connor groaned and rolled onto his back, peeking up at his smiling husband with bleary eyes. With a smirk Pearce explained what he had found downstairs. “Aww really? I guess he didn’t want to wake us.” While it was only something small, Connor was hoping Koda would have come to them for help.

While Connor took his first sip of caffeine, Pearce headed next door to wake Koda. “Kodaa.” Pearce sung, opening up the stripey curtains, to let the daylight flood into the room. “It’s time to wake up Sweetie.” He said quietly, gently brushing the boys messy hair off of his forehead.

Koda’s dark eyes popped open as he let out a big stretch and reached out. “Hi Papa.” Swooping Koda out from under the covers, Pearce felt his warm little arms wrap around him and stood for a few moments, cuddling his snuggly boy. “Let’s change that soggy bum and we’ll go see Daddy.” While Pearce got to work, he looked down at Koda cuddling his friend Ludlow and smiled. “Did you wake up last night little one?” He asked, curious to see if his earlier observation was correct.

Koda nodded warily, thinking he might be in trouble and fixed his dark orbs on Pearce’s. “I was jus’ a little thirsty.” He answered softly, gauging his Papa’s reaction. “Aw okay, you know if you wanted, you could of come and woke Daddy and he’d have made you a bottle.” Pearce told him, securing the tapes of his diaper. With a sparkle of desire in his eyes, that idea sounded very appealing to the little one. “Really? Can… I have it now?” Koda asked, wiggling in anticipation. Leaving his boy in just his pyjama top and diaper, he stood him on his feet. “Go ask him.” Pearce whispered, sending him off with a knowing wink.

It was Friday and the end of Koda’s wonderful week off with JJ. While the whole week had been one surprise after another for his favourite little man, today JJ had a little surprise for Connor and Pearce. “Hey boys!” JJ called out, letting himself in with spare key his friends had given him. “JJ!” Koda yelled, running towards the door, dressed in a comfy longsleeve onesie, to greet him. “Was ‘hat?” He asked curiously, pointing to the thick Manila envelope his friend was clutching. Tapping his fingers on the paper sleeve, JJ gave Koda a coy smile. “This is something for your daddies to look at.”

Putting his gift, of sorts, to one side, JJ followed the bouncy energized boy into the garden where Koda wanted to kick off the day on his new favourite garden activity. After a brisk fifteen minutes of giggly jumping, Koda landed on his rear and bounced to a gentle stop. “JJ? Do you want to bounce?” He asked politely, offering up his springy new toy. “Er, nah, you go ahead Mini-man.. huh? Oh okay.” Before JJ could finish declining, Koda had taken his hand and pulled him to the foot of the step up. “Alright, maybe a little bounce…” Feeling self-conscious, JJ nervously stood in the centre of large circle and looked back to Koda, but seeing his beaming happy face shining up at him, he was spurred on to give it a try.

“Wo-ah!” JJ involuntarily yelped as he fought to keep his balance. But something strange soon happened, as JJ bounced higher, the nerves and apprehension he felt disappeared and he began to truly enjoy it. The childlike glee soon washed over JJ and encouraged him to bounce higher. “This is pretty fun!” He called out to Koda, who was watching as his friend began to enjoy himself.

Although he had fun, JJ swapped back, letting the excited boy take over, while he relaxed on the wooden patio lounger. “Lunch is ready guys!” Connor called out of the kitchen window, taking JJ by complete surprise. “It’s lunchtime already?! Damn that went quick. Alright.” Koda came to a speedy stop dropping down on his bum and scooting his way over to the silver steps. The hungry little sped through the door as JJ held it open for him, calling out a loud “Fankyou!” as he headed straight for the intoxicating aroma of the grilled chicken sandwiches his Daddy had made, plonking down with a crinkle in his chair.

Popping the last bite of tasty sandwich into his mouth, the morning’s exercise was catching up to Koda. Connor gently brushed Koda’s black hair out of his face and peeked down at his tired looking eyes. “Why don’t we have naptime a little earlier today hm?” But flicking his eyes up, Koda shook his head, not wanting to miss out on any time with JJ. “No. I’m not s’eepy.” He lied unconvincingly. “Oh yes you are baby boy. I’ll make you a bottle and JJ can carry you upstairs.” Connor smirked, expecting the cute resistance.

JJ gently deposited the grumbling boy onto the changing table and gave him a gently pat on the head. “Enjoy your sleep Mini-man, I’ll be right downstairs when you wake up okay?” He headed downstairs, to get his surprise ready to present to his friend. Upstairs, Connor swiftly changed the grouchy boy’s very wet diaper, so he was ready for his nap and popped the snaps of his onesie closed. “There we go Sweetie, all comfy again.” He smiled, lifting Koda up into his arms. “Ooo there’s my cuddly boy.” Connor cooed, kissing Koda’s cheek.

Downstairs, when Connor returned, JJ was sat forward eager to show his friend something. “He was asleep before I left the room.” Connor chuckled, easing himself down onto the sofa. “I’m not surprised. Here, Con.” JJ leaned across and handed Connor the envelope he had brought with him. “What’s this?” Pulling open the flap, Connor lifted the thick stack of paper out and read the front. “First draft.” JJ grinned. “I wanted you two to be the first to read it and I want your honest opinions. Plus any changes you think I should make, I really do want as much input from you guys as you can offer.” JJ’s sincere gesture, really meant a lot to Connor and up until this point the idea of a book being written about his little boy didn’t seem real.

Koda woke from his much needed nap, fully refreshed and ready for the long exciting afternoon of fun with JJ. Spending the rest of the day playing silly board games and doing fun puzzles was the perfect way to cap off their week together. But after dinner when it came time for JJ to head home, Koda began to get very emotional and held on tight to his loving mentor. “I hope you enjoyed our week as much as I did Mini-man, it was long overdue.” When Koda lifted his head to look at JJ, thin streams of tears were flowing down his freckled cheeks. “Hey, don’t cry, it’s okay!” Shocked, JJ glanced over to Pearce, pleading silently for assistance.

Coming to JJ’s aid, Pearce knelt next to his weepy boy and ran his meaty paw in smooth circles on Koda’s back. “It’s alright buddy, JJ will be back next weekend.” With Pearce’s reassurance that JJ wouldn’t be missing for months like last time, he released his tight grip and finally let JJ go. With a lasting final cuddle, Koda stood in the doorway waving JJ off as the tears continued to run down his pale face. When JJ’s car disappeared out of sight, Pearce lifted Koda into his arms, feeling the weepy boy melt into him and bury his face against his shirt.

Overcome with mixed emotions, the sniffling boy held tightly to his Papa needing to be comforted. “What happened?” Connor saw his husband holding Koda and could hear the distinct sniffling of a weepy little. “He’s okay, just a bit upset.” Pearce whispered. That evening, the family cuddled together and Koda’s sadness quickly faded as he enjoyed all the snuggly attention.

Because all the focus was on their little one, it wasn’t until after they tucked Koda into bed, that Connor remembered JJ’s book draft that he had tucked under coffee table to show Pearce when he got home. “Really? Already?” His husband said in disbelief, pulling his nightime tshirt over his head as he dressed for bed. “Mhmm, I know.” Connor chuckled. “Can you get it for me? I thought we could start reading it tonight.” He grinned, biting his lip in excitement.

For the next three nights the parents worked through JJ’s story, adoring, gushing and tearing up over each page. With only a couple minor annotations they noted down, they laid in bed stunned and amazed that their boy was the star of his very own book. “I’ve read his stuff before, but this…. I love it.” Pearce hummed, leaning his head against his husband and softly kissing him. “Is it big headed to think that, because it’s pretty much our life?” He chuckled worrying about what his thought meant.

Connor chuckled and rubbed the tired sting from his eyes. “Maybe a little.” Playfully teasing Pearce, he rolled over and flicked off his bedside lamp, before nuzzling down in the fluffy covers. Letting out a deep chuckle, Pearce wrapped his big arms around his man and together they went to sleep, dreaming separately about Koda’s adventures.

It was an extraordinarily long six weeks for Connor, hauling the weighted plaster boot around, but finally the day of removal arrived. “So they’re really going to cut it off today, yeah?” Pearce grinned, drying his hands, damp from the washing up. “Yep, no more lugging this heavy thing around.” Connor smirked, patting the top of the flaking cast.

Koda, who had been playing close by with his plastic animals on his playmat, sat bolt upright with a horrified expression, having caught only part of what his daddies had been saying and jumped up onto Connor’s lap. “DADDY NO! Don’t let them cut you!!” He screeched, misconstruing what the pair had been talking about. Seeing the terror on Koda’s face, sent the amusement Connor first felt packing. “No no no Sweetie, no, don’t worry. We just mean the plaster cast, they are going to cut the cast off today.” He explained, stroking the petrified boy’s back.

“We’ll go and watch if you want buddy? Then you can see everything will be just fine.” Pearce said giving Koda a sympathetic smile. Unfortunately, he had inherited Connor’s worried streak and Pearce knew that, like his husband, Koda wouldn’t be able to relax until he had seen proof that Connor was going to be okay. “Ooo I get my own driver.” Connor chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

Sitting in the clean and simple treatment room, Connor lounged on the blue hospital bed, tapping his unhampered foot restlessly as he waited for the nurse to return with the extraction tools. But while he was eager to get going, Koda wasn’t so excited. With a smirk, Connor turned to his husband and gently patted his worried boys head. “I just thought, six weeks of no shaving. No laughing at my yeti foot.” He smirked, raising his eyebrow.

Just then a short shuffling nurse came into the room backwards, dragging her wheeled cart with her. Spinning around, she nudged her glasses up her nose and smiled at the family. “In high spirits? That’s good. Shall we start?” She asked rhetorically, picking up the simple sleek looking instrument. Pressing the button, the saw whizzed to life as the nurse tested it was ready to use. “What a colourful cast!” She commented, admiring Koda’s handywork. The intimidating noise made Koda leap to his feet and wrap his arms around Connor to try to protect him.

“It’s okay Sweetie.” Lifting the light boy up, Connor sat Koda next to him on the bed and put his arm around his back. “Aw no need to be scared young man, this saw only cuts the tough plaster.” The nurse said, seeing the fear written all over Koda’s face. “Would you like to help me, by watching and making sure it cuts properly?” Her offer was met with Koda’s usual shyness as he hid his face against Connor’s tshirt.

Normally they wouldn’t push against their boys shy response, but Pearce wanted Koda to see there was nothing to be scared of. “Here buddy, sit with Papa for a minute.” Sitting Koda on his lap so he faced the action, he wrapped his arms around Koda’s stomach and pressed a kiss to his nervous little’s cheek. Without hindrance the nurse began the simple removal, zipping down the plaster with all of Koda’s colourful drawings on. Secured in his Papa’s grip and with a little persuasion from Connor, Koda watched as the nurse expertly sliced down each side of the cast and flicked off the saw. “All done!” She announced, setting the scary tool back onto her cart. Taking the long nosed scissors she swiftly snipped the last remnants deep in each cut and then carefully took apart the cast, like a two piece jigsaw.

“Oh, it’s good to be free!” Connor chuckled, wiggling his toes as the cool air rushed over his sweat dampened shin. After the nurse had taken the cast fully away, she began prodding and nudging Connor’s ankle to check it was fully healed. Leaning forward, Koda wanted to take a closer look, to check if the mean saw had cut his Daddy. “Peew! Daddy, your foot smells.” Koda’s signature brand of uninhibited honesty, made Pearce chuckle so hard, he almost bounced his boy off his lap.

Having his cast removed, put Connor in a joyous mood and to celebrate his ‘freedom’ he wanted to take his boys out for lunch. Parking at his restaurant of choice, he hopped out and quickly unbuckled their boy from his seat. “Pizza!?” Koda yelped, spotting the famously hatted sign. “Yep!” Connor chuckled, feeling extra pleased with Koda’s reaction.

Settling into the cushioned semi circle booth, with his daddies on either side, Koda was beaming as he looked at the yummy looking menu. “What do we fancy today?” Pearce enquired, leaning to the excited little. “Um, um, mmm… Ham! Oh! An’ some chicken pieces! An’ sweetcorn please!” Bouncing in his seat, Koda was more than ready for one if his favourite meals. “Papa? What are you going to get?” Glancing at the many options, Pearce hummed out loud as he decided. “Mighty Meat I think.” His predictable decision made Connor smirk and earn a playful scowl from his husband.

After taking their order, the smiling young waitress came back to the table with a colouring page and some crayons for Koda. With a cute little gasp, Koda eagerly took them from her with a smile. “Thankyou!” He squeaked politely, sending the waitress off with a smile. “Good boy.” Connor praised, beaming with pride at his well mannered boy, the constant reminder of how sweet Koda was, was never far away.

Koda focused in on his colouring as he patiently waited for his food, leaving Connor and Pearce to chat to one another about the hospital. What the couple really wanted to chat about though sat at the forefront of their minds, but had to wait until little ears were out of range, not that Koda was paying much attention to them anyway as he quietly coloured.

When the food came moments later, Koda reached straight out, trying to grab the delicious looking lunch, momentarily forgetting how piping hot it was. “No no, buddy!” Pearce caught him just in time to avoid a serious ouchy, holding the eager boys paws in his hand. “Sorry Papa.” Koda said, not realising just how close he came to burning his little fingers. “Hung’y.” He hummed, staring with glistening eyes at the pizza infront of him.

Connor slipped a couple of slices out of the sizzling hot pan onto Koda’s plate and subtly slid the pan away out of his boys reach. “Here Sweetie.” Pouncing like a ravenous lion, Koda bit the point off his slice, stretching a string of cheese from his plate to his lips as he let out a very satisfied hum. Connor smirked at his husband as they both then tucked into their shared large pizza.

“I can’t… eat… anymore.” Koda groaned, leaning back in the squeaky plastic booth, gently patting his very full tummy. Having powered through the majority of his medium pan pizza, he had left only 2 of the hefty slices. “We can take it home if you like Sweetie.” Connor smiled affectionately, after watching his boy thoroughly enjoy his lunch.

Handing his wallet to Pearce, Connor lead his boy to the bathroom, pleased that now he was able to do all the little things for Koda once again. “Just a quick change for my little guy!” Connor said gleefully, lifting Koda up onto the raised side. It was these intimate moments he found he missed most, not the ability to exercise or freedom to drive wherever he pleased, but the simplicity of getting Koda changed and being able to slide down on the floor and play with his happy boy. Humming happily, Connor had Koda changed into a comfy fresh diaper in no time and helped him back to his feet. “There we go.” He grinned.

With big shining eyes, Koda looking lovingly up at his Daddy and wrapped his arms around him. “Luff you Daddy.” He whispered, holding tight and adding to Connor’s already perfect mood. Connor came out of the family bathroom, striding confidently through the restaurant with his boy in his arms and an unwavering smile spread across his face, towards his waiting husband.

Arriving home, Connor unbuckled Koda’s seatbelt, leaving Pearce to open the front door, then swooped his boy out and flew him inside like a superhero. “Ahaha! Weeeee!” Koda’s happy shriek, made Pearce scurry out of the way and chuckle as the duo raced past him. Darting into the livingroom, Connor flew the increasingly noisy little around and around, before finally falling onto the sofa, smothering him in a big bear hug. “Daddy!” Koda giggled. “That was fun!”

After putting the leftovers down, Pearce was ready to join the fun. “Well, well, well!” He yelled, jumping into the doorway that connected the kitchen and front room, with his hands on his hips. “If it isn’t Super Koda and Daddyman, my arch nemesis’!” His sudden appearance and strange statement had his boy’s full attention instantly. “I, the evil Doctor Tickle, have come to steal all your cookies and lock away all your stuffed friends! Mwahaha!”

Koda jumped to his feet, getting instantly into character and pointed his finger straight at Pearce. “No way you meanie! Me an’ Daddyman are going to defeat you!” He proclaimed proudly standing in a power stance. Watching Pearce call the animated boy forward with a gesture, Connor leapt into action, grabbing Koda and flying him right at the waiting villain. “Let’s get him!” Egging Koda on, Connor tossed him the short way, letting Pearce catch him.

“Argh! No not the Super attack!” Pearce screeched, gently falling down onto the carpeted floor, with Koda on top of him. “Those are my cookies!” Koda peeped, wrestling around with his muscly Papa and getting the upper hand as he sat on Pearce’s belly. “Daddy quick! Make sure the cookies are safe!”

But taking his eyes off Pearce below him, left him open for a return attack. “Rawr! It’s time for the Doctor to strike back!” Digging his finger’s into Koda’s soft belly, Pearce unleashed a ferocious tickle storm on his squealing, wriggly boy. “PAPA!! HAHAHAA! Nooo!” Wriggling to get free, like a feral cat, Koda was a whirlwind of flailing limbs as he tried to brush off Pearce’s powerful tickle grip.

“I’ll save you!” Connor called in his heroic character, swatting away Pearce’s hands and flying Koda straight up and out of the evil Doctor Tickles reach. “I left a power up on the side for you.” Connor winked, sending the still giggling boy off to the kitchen to find his special cookie.

They chased, tickled and wrestled in an epic superhero battle, where good finally prevailed and Super Koda declared all his stuffies free. The evil Doctor Tickle was locked away in the ‘baddie’ prison and regular Pearce was able to return to get a quick cuddle before it was time to tuck into the tasty dinner Connor had whipped up.

Wearing his comfy new puppy onesie, that Connor had designed, Koda sat cross legged infront of the TV, holding onto his feet as he watched the final moments of Bluey. As the credits rolled, Pearce reached down and lifted Koda up from his spot on the carpet, setting him on his lap. “That was a good episode wasn’t it?” He beamed, wrapping his arms around his boy. “Time for Daddy’s show now.” Pearce said as he planted a kiss to Koda’s cheek and handed the happy boy his paci.

Connor shot his husband a glare of disapproval. “Tsk. You like it as much as I do!” He snipped in reply, making their boy chuckle sweetly. The three relaxed and watched the latest exploits of the warriors on Vikings. While the adults were absorbed by the drama on screen, Pearce let Koda play some of the games he had on his phone, but after a while the little one slid off unnoticed, to find something fun to play with.

As the closing music played, Connor turned to Pearce, eager to carry on. “Have we got time for one more?” He asked. “We should put Koda to bed first… Where’s he got to?” Pearce said, scratching his head as he looked around the room. Hearing a bustle in the kitchen, he poked his head around the corner to find Koda playing with one of his action figures, turning the dining table and chairs into a mountain adventure. “Hey buddy, are you ready for bed?”

“’Kay Papa.” Koda replied, rolling onto his bum and reaching his arms out. Pearce carried the sleepy boy back to the livingroom so he could say goodnight and get a kiss and cuddle from Connor. Lifting him up into his arms, he went to take him to bed, but spotted Connor reaching for the control. “Don’t start the next one ‘til I get back.” He told him quietly, before leaving the room. “I thought you didn’t like it?” Connor smirked, sticking out his tongue.

The snuggly little was very tired by the time Pearce had changed his diaper and decided instead of storytime, he would like an intimate cuddle with his Papa. “Alrighty my little man.” Pearce cooed, holding the sleepy boy in his lap as he stroked the back of Koda’s head. “Ooo what a good boy.” It took all of six minutes for Koda to fall fast asleep in Pearce’s lap. Lifting the light boy up, Pearce easily tucked him safely into bed and planted a final kiss on his forehead. “Goodnight baby.”

Everything was silent and settled in the household on the relaxed Sunday morning. With Koda in his room, playing with his toys, Pearce was helping Connor order his materials as his supply had dwindled to the point of almost running out. Between them, they worked out how much Connor needed for his current orders and how much extra to order so he could continue to work without needing to order again anytime soon. “Well… we have room Babe and you know you’re going to use it up at some point, just order the longer rolls, it’ll workout marginally cheaper too.” Pearce’s reasoning easily won over Connor as they chuckled and shared a warm cuddle.

Suddenly however, their sweet moment was shattered. “WAAAHAAHAAHA!!” Koda’s explosively loud cry, rippled around the entire house, putting both men in panic mode. Dropping what they were holding, they both raced towards their boy. “Koda?!” They both yelled, thundering up the stairs. Connor burst through the door ahead of Pearce and scooped up the sobbing boy. “Sweetie what happened? Are you okay?” Koda buried his face into his Daddy’s shoulder and held on tight, unable to reply through his sad cries. Pearce held both of them, stroking his upset little’s shaking back as he looked around for any clues as to what had happened.

While Connor fretted and tried to pull an answer from Koda, Pearce spotted the likely cause. Ludlow was laying where Koda had been playing, with a long curled piece of thread was sticking out from where his arm usually was and a foot away laid his now detached limb. Lifting the injured bear, he showed his husband and watched him breathe a silent sigh of relief. “Shh, it’s okay little one, it’s okay.” Connor said softly, gently bouncing his boy in his arms. The boys pain was clear as he wept for his beloved soft friend. A sudden spark in Pearce’s brain made him speak out and gently stroke Koda’s black hair. “Shall we give Mama a call?”

Once Connor had calmed their distraught boy, the three sat on the edge of Koda’s bed as Pearce pulled out his phone. As soon as the phone began to buzz it’s dial tone, Koda stared up at Pearce as he held it to his ear. “Hi Mama… Yes thankyou… Hm, oh I see… Mama, mama… We had a little mishap and Koda has something he would like to ask you okay?” After halting his mother’s tendency to barrage him with all the news she had at once, he held the phone up to Koda’s ear. “Ludlow needs help please!.. His arm is undone an’ i’s hurt… I was just playing an’ then the thing on the other fell an’ that means he can’t come to beeeeddd.” Koda tried explaining his predicament, but as he did the sadness welled up inside him once more and he cried, burying himself in Connor’s embrace.

Pearce took his phone back again and attempted to explain a little clearer than Koda. “He is yeah… No, no Connor has him… Really? Thankyou Mama… I love you too.” Wrapping both his boys in a hug, Pearce gave his husband a smile and a wink. “Mama wants us all to come over for Sunday lunch and Ludlow too, so she can take a look at him.” At the mention of his bear in need, Koda spun to look at Pearce with a glimmer of hope in his very sad eyes. With tears still falling, Koda held onto his Daddy, needing his comforting touch. “Here buddy.” Pearce said quietly, pulling a hidden paci from his pocket.

Koda clung to Connor like a baby monkey while Pearce got himself smartened up to go. “Come to Papa Sweetie, I’ll get you dressed and we’ll let Daddy get changed.” He smiled softly, gently uncoupling Koda from his husband and holding the still sobbing boy, close to his chest. Even though the grouchy boy was not in the most cooperative mood, Pearce had his pouty prince ready to leave in no time. “Papa? *sniff * Will Ludlow be able to come to bed wif me tonight?” The heartbreak was so clear in his boys voice, that Pearce could feel how worried Koda was. “We will try our best little one.”

Even though he was sat in his carseat with his paci and both Stripey and Reggie to cuddle, Koda was still very upset. “Sit in the back with him Babe, he needs a little comfort.” Pearce said, softly pecking his husband on the lips. On the journey, Koda’s gaze stayed locked on the bag containing his fallen friend, while leaning against his Daddy. When they arrived, Maya was waiting at the front door as she always did, ready to welcome them inside. Once Connor unbuckled Koda, the little one swiped up the plastic bag and ran across the crunchy stones to his waiting grandma. “Can you please help Ludlow?” He asked sweetly, holding the bag out with both hands.

Pearce wrapped his arm around his gushing husband and followed their boy inside. “He’s just so cute.” Connor cooed. Koda quickly came trudging out of the kitchen, right up to the pair and pressed his face into Connor’s midsection. “Daddy, cuddle…” His voice was very quiet as his anxiety was building. “Alright cutie pie, up we go!” Lifting Koda into his arms, Connor strode into the front room and dropped down next to Pearce on the comfy plush sofa, settling Koda in his lap as he greeted Romeo who was sat in his favourite chair, between the window and the bookcase, facing the TV and room both at the perfect angle for him to pay attention to both.

“Well then, did you see the racing?” Romeo began, shuffling to get more comfortable. “Here we go.” Pearce whispered to his left, bracing for another lecture on the entire history of Formula 1 and how clever the cars are these days compared to when he was a boy. “I’m just going to get a drink.” Pearce grinned, excusing himself and leaving Connor to listen politely.

“Hi Mama, would you like a coffee? How’s the bear?” He asked, getting himself and Connor a mug from the stacked cupboard. “Oh, no thankyou dear. And he’s almost finished.” Maya replied, keeping her eyes down as she concentrated on her delicate sewing. “Thank god, he was so incredibly upset. You know, he really really loves Ludlow.” Pearce grinned, knowing how happy it would make Maya. Stirring the steaming coffee’s, he saw the smile spread across his mama’s face as she snipped the loose piece of thread and sat the bear up on the table. With a wink to Pearce, she leaned back in her chair and called into the front room. “Koda, could you come to the kitchen?”

Koda’s ears pricked up and he quickly wriggled up to his feet, but before heading off, he felt a rush of nerves pinning him to the spot. Tugging on Connor’s hand, he signalled he wanted his Daddy to back him up. “Sorry, one moment.” Connor said politely, cutting Romeo’s lecture short. “Come on then Sweetie.” He said with a supportive hand on Koda’s back.

Shuffling around the corner, the nervous boy peeked through the opening and saw Pearce leaning back against the counter, smiling at him as he motioned for him to come closer. “There you are young man!” Maya beamed, leaning forward with a sweet smile that somehow managed to neutralise all of Koda’s nervous energy. “Someone is waiting for you.” She sung, pulling the new and repaired Ludlow from behind her. “LUDLOW!” Koda squealed, leaping forward and wrapping his bear in a heartfelt cuddle. “I’m sorry I hurt your arm.” He said softly, making all three hearts around him swell. Looking up, he gave Maya a very meaningful hug as his daddies watched on. “Thankyou for mending Ludlow.” Wrapped her arms around the happy boy, Maya rubbed Koda’s back and hummed. “Oh you are very welcome dear.” For Connor it was all too cute as he turned into Pearce and squealed quietly, making his husband scoff.

The warm loving feeling swam through the family home, with many laughs and chuckles rippling around the house. For Sunday lunch, Maya had prepared one of her signature pot roasts with a whole variety of vegetables, many of which left Koda feeling puzzled. “Papa?” He whispered. “Papa? Is this ‘tato?” Studying the square chunk Koda had speared on his fork, Pearce smiled and leaned down. “That’s a piece of swede buddy.” Popping the well cooked vegetable in his mouth, he investigated the strange new food for a full thirty seconds before delivering his verdict. “I’s nice.” He hummed happily, scooping up more from his plate. A couple of minutes later, Koda came across another strange object in his dinner. “Wha’s this one?” He asked, looking up with his wide dark eyes. “It’s a little shallot, like a mini onion, but it tastes better.” Pearce told him, using his fork to point.

Connor watched on as Koda finished his modest portion, setting his knife and fork down and poured on his praise. “What a good boy, you managed it all! Was it nice?” Koda blinked innocently at his Daddy. “Mhmm, yummy!” He replied, before pausing and turning to look down the table at Maya “Thankyou for my dinner.” Maya beamed a toothy grin back at her polite grandson, feeling very pleased that he enjoyed her cooking. “You are very welcome Koda.” If there was one way to make Maya happy, it was to enjoy her food and for Koda to find it tasty, was the biggest compliment he could give.

After their early dinner was all cleared away and Connor changed Koda’s diaper, the little one was due his nap, but he was putting up quite the resistance until Maya interjected. “Koda?” She called calmly, beckoning him to her with a finger and a warm smile. “You know, Ludlow is still recovering and he could use your help.” She explained, catching the boy’s curiosity. “He should have a nap in a minute and then tonight, he needs a nice long rest too. Do you think you could accompany him?” Her plan worked like a charm and Koda agreed to nap, but only because it was helping his bear get better. Connor mouthed a silent thankyou as he put his arm around Koda and helped him upstairs.

The entire day with Pearce’s parents was so relaxed and homely, that it reset all the stresses accumulated from the working week. Being so relaxed and happy together, the smallest of things became incredibly funny. As he did every Sunday, Romeo fell asleep and the quiet whistling of his nose between snores, made all of the adults giggle and the harder they tried to stop the more funny it became. “Oh goodness!” Maya chuckled. “How have I put up with that man for so long? It’s like a rusty car engine.” She joked, holding her cheeks as they began to ache.

Koda was happy laying on the plush rug infront of the fire, playing with Ludlow and watching cartoons on his Papa’s phone as the sky outside began to darken. “Well Mama, it was a lovely day, thankyou.” Pearce beamed, striding over to hug his much shorter mother, in the engulfing way he always did. “Oooh my boy, you know you are welcome anytime, anytime at all.” She then set her eyes on Connor, locking in on him. “Come here my boy.” Maya beamed, bringing Connor forward lovingly. With Pearce clearing up Koda’s things, the little one jumped to his feet and ran over to get his own cuddle. He thanked Maya again for fixing his beloved friend and her yummy cooking, while hugging her tightly.

When they got home, with his tummy full and the warm fuzzy feeling of a wonderful day, Koda was ready for a cuddly night with his loving daddies. Before it was bedtime, Koda had dragged out his colouring book and crayons, creating a maze of coloured wax sticks across the floor, with just enough room to tiptoe through. Pulling himself to his feet, the sluggish, sleepy boy pushed his colouring into Pearce’s hand. “Papa?” He said softly, rubbing the dull tired sting from his eye. “I did this for um… Grandma. Can you give it to her?”

Pearce looked at the colouring of a boy playing with his teddies and smiled. “Of course, that was very sweet of you buddy.” Along the top Koda had written a very adorable thankyou message and as Pearce was reading it, Connor craned his neck over to get his own glimpse at his boys evening creativity. “Aww! So cuteee.” He cooed, hiding his face as he gushed over Koda once again.

Once Koda was changed and settled into bed, Connor was on story duty as he checked his boy was comfortably tucked in. “Okay Sweet Pea, nice and comfy.” Connor smiled, relaxing in the chair at the end of Koda’s bed. “Well then… Tsk, God I sound like Romeo now.” He grumbled and chuckled to himself. “This is the story of Winnie The Pooh and the Blustery Day… Winnie the Pooh, or Pooh as he is called by his friends, is a bear who lives in the Hundred Acre Wood. One very blustery day, Pooh decided to visit his thinking spot…”

The little one was nestled down in his cosy Paw Patrol covers, gently sucking his paci and hanging on every word of Pooh Bear’s story. The now repaired Ludlow was snuggled back in his rightful place at Koda’s side, next to his beloved tiger Stripey. Quietly setting the book down, Connor turned on the cute orange cat nightlight and turned off the brighter, tall floor lamp. “Goodnight my Sweet boy.” He whispered, slipping out and silently descending the stairs.

However, the little one’s slumber didn’t last. Tossing and turning, the very tired boy relented and sat up in the dark room, feeling very grumpy and restless. With a quiet grumble, Koda dragged himself out of bed and shuffled, with Ludlow in hand, towards the sounds of his daddies voices next door.

“Are you okay little one?” Pearce called, spotting his boy first. “I can’t… s’eep.” Koda replied in a mix of a grumble and a sleepy croak. Standing in the doorway, clutching his stuffed bear as he rubbed his sleepy eyes, the waistband of his nighttime protection poked out of his pyjamas just enough to remind them how little their boy was. It was an adorable unexpected sight for Connor and Pearce. Looking at one another, Pearce gave his husband a smiling nod, knowing what he was thinking without needing to speak. “Come cuddle with Daddy Sweetie.” Connor beamed, holding his arms open.

Connor gently lifted Koda up and popped him between them in the bed, letting the sleepy boy wriggle his way down under the covers and nuzzle into his warmth. Fluidly shrinking into the fetal position, Koda quietly crinkled as he got comfy in the big warm bed, his small frame curling between his daddies. Pearce stretched up high and sank down into the waiting comfort, reaching over to the new addition and planting a soft kiss to Koda’s cheek as he whispered. “Goodnight baby.” Following suit Connor flipped off his modern silver lamp and rolled over, putting a protective arm around his sleepy boy. With the protection and comfort of his daddies surrounding him, Koda’s sleepy troubles seemed to be now far away as he quickly drifted off into a blissful nights sleep.


	8. Fame and Family

“Holy shit… Really? When?” JJ paced around his flat, brimming with excitement as he got the phonecall he had been waiting for. “Yes! Shit, David, you are the best man!.. I’m buzzing, honestly… Hm? Well I’ll come pick them up… No no no, let me… When’s the other meeting?..” Scratching the back of his head, JJ stretched and shook off the last remnants of sleep. After hanging up the call, he pinched his phone tight and threw his fist in the air in celebration. “Hell Yeah!”

With an exuberant spring in his step, JJ threw on his most formal hoodie and fresh black jeans as he readied himself to leave. Sitting in his car, he cursed, forgetting his wallet as he did at least once a week. “I need to start checking before I fuckin’ leave.” He grumbled, storming back into his apartment, to pick up his leather nemesis.

Sitting in traffic, JJ tapped his steering wheel as he hummed along to the radio. Normally busy traffic was a sure fire way to make JJ grumpy, but today nothing could dampen his high. “Ba da da daa… Ba da da daa… Hey Jimmy!” Pulling up to the parking entrance, he called out to the friendly attendant and flashed his pass. Peering over his latest read, the ageing man gave JJ a nod and smile as he lifted the steel barrier. Parking up, JJ hurried his way up to the 13th floor, where the culmination of his hard work was waiting for him. “David!” He bellowed, grinning like the Cheshire Cat letting the double doors flap closed behind him.

“That was quick, nice of you to dress up.” David retorted, leaning back in his sleek black office chair. Still beaming, JJ gave a little shrug and sat on the edge of the large circular meeting table in the centre of the office. “Is this them?” He asked, wrapping his fingertips on one of the several cardboard boxes on the tabletop. The spiky haired man nodded as he turned back to his computer screen, nudging his glasses a little higher up his nose. “Bit different than your usual thing, isn’t it?” David asked, tapping away on his keyboard as he multitasked.

Ripping at the tape on the box, JJ glanced back at David and grinned. “Yeah, but it’s good to branch out right?” Pulling open the tort flaps, JJ finally laid his eyes on the freshly printed cover of the first book in the ‘Koda’s Adventures’ series. Lifting the top book out, he marvelled in the perfectly fitting artwork he had chosen, of a caricature resembling Koda, acting shy as he cuddled his stuffed teddy bear. “Perfect.” He murmured to himself, thinking about his little friend.

Spinning around and tossing his book up in the air, he grinned at the man behind his computer. “So! How many can I steal?” He asked, already pulling more out of the open box. Peering over his glasses, David was used to JJ trying to grab as many freebies as he could carry, but he was under strict orders. “Three.” He said bluntly. “Three boxes?” JJ said excitedly, already planning in his head who he was going to unload them on. “Three books.” David said cutting the writer off mid-thought.

Giving David a puzzled look, JJ didn’t quite understand. “Seriously? Why?” Usually JJ would get a box or two of each release so he could give them out to everyone he cared about, often whether they wanted them or not. “Because we’ve practically sold out. We’ve already had to order a new run from the printers. It’s lucky you’re getting three.” David’s revelation almost floored him. JJ stared at David with mouth agape, trying to process what he was saying. For a full thirty seconds the two sat in silence staring at one another, until JJ found his voice. “Well how many did we start with?”

David smiled, he could see JJ’s disbelief and knew he wasn’t ready for the answer. “Your usual 3500.” He said, holding in a laugh. “And they’re gone…?” JJ’s mind was whirring as what he heard didn’t seem real. His last book, while fun to write, had taken almost six months to sell it’s first 3500 copies and now David was saying that Koda’s adventures had burned through it’s 3500 before it had even been released. David gave JJ a slow nod and the realisation began to sink in. “Damn man… This is going to be pretty big huh?” Tapping the book in his hands, JJ bit his lower lip as the money signs practically shined in his glistening eyes.

At the same time across town, Koda was sat on the grass with the other littles, rocking his feet from side to side as they listened to Miss Lime explain the life cycle of plants and how important plant life is. Tuesday’s were favoured by students and teachers alike as the best day of the week, because it never failed to put everyone in a good mood. Koda’s friend Gigi loved the garden probably more than anyone else in class, she was very in tune with nature and never squeamish when it came to creepy crawlies. “I knew that!” The frizzy haired girl accidentally yelled.

After handing in his worksheet, Koda shuffled uncomfortably on the spot, which didn’t go unnoticed. “Are you alright Koda?” Dee asked, patting the boy’s shoulder. “Can… I have… change please.” He asked shyly, feeling like everyone around him could smell his accident as he stood nibbling on his fingers. “Of course.” Putting a protective arm around the bashful little, Dee steered him inside, silently communicating to Miss Lime that she was going to help Koda.

After being freshened up, Koda’s shyness evaporated and he went straight back to being the happy boy they all adored. While he was being changed, Miss Lime had broken the class for lunch and the rest of the little’s were slowly funnelling into the lunchroom. “Koda! I saved you a space!” Gigi’s loud voice echoed through around the lunch hall as she beckoned her friend over. “Thanks!” Koda cheeped, giving the smiling girl a big grin. The whole room was a bustle of chatter and laughter as the littles tucked into their tasty food together.

When it was home time, Koda headed straight outside towards Connor, who was stood in his usual spot and trying his hardest to keep the budding smile from his face. “Hi Sweetie, ready to go?” He swooped the happy boy up and swiftly got him settled in his car seat, where Ludlow was sat waiting for him. Connor’s eagerness to get going, went completely unnoticed by the distracted little as he snuggled his faithful stuffie.

Rounding the long sweeping corner into their street, just as the house came into view, Koda spotted a familiar car parked on the road outside. “JJ’s here!” He cheered, clapping his hands together. “Oh, how about that?” Connor played ignorant, while smirked to himself. He knew that inside JJ had a surprise for Koda that he had been waiting on, for quite a while. No sooner had Connor undone Koda’s seatbelt, the little slid out of the car and bolted straight for the house, to greet his buddy. “JJ!” He called out, running into the front room and diving on the unsuspecting man.

“Oof! Hey Mini-man, did you have a good day?” JJ lounged on the sofa, trying to hide the excitement inside as he kept his hand over the book that he had tucked down by his side. Koda briefly explained his days events, crinkling as he wriggled to get comfy on JJ’s lap. “Sounds like you had a great day.” JJ grinned, wrapping an arm around Koda as Connor handed a cool bottle of juice to his boy. “I have something I want to show you Mini-man. I worked very hard on it and it means a lot to me that you have the very first copy.”

Pulling the book from his side, he held it infront of Koda and showed him the cover. “Tha’s me!” Koda beamed, the nipple of his bottle still in his mouth.

JJ smiled and gave the vibrant little a happy squeeze. “Yep! This, is your very own story. The one you and Con… er, Daddy helped me write. And you get to have it before anyone else in the world!” When JJ told Koda, the little one gasped and twisted his head to look at him. “Mhmm, first ever!” JJ chuckled.

After a while, Koda was relaxing on his playmat, playing with his action figures, with his paci bobbing away in his mouth, leaving the adults to chat. “That was really nice of you man, he was pretty excited.” Connor chuckled, pulling his leg up to get comfy. “I’ve actually had quite a few people asking about the book, especially at daycare.”

JJ couldn’t hold back his delighted grin as his predictions were all but confirmed. “Ah, yeah… that was the other thing I wanted to tell you about. Sales are looking good. Well actually, they’re looking fu… uhh.” Catching himself before he let his foul language slip, JJ peeked over at Koda to see if he had heard, before continuing. “They’re looking great. I went in earlier and we’ve already had to order another run, this could be really big Con.” JJ leaned back in his seat with an almost smug grin as he thought forward to the coming success.

JJ had to head off to his important meeting, just as Pearce pulled up in the driveway, but not before greeting his friend and giving him a 30 second run down of his exciting news. Pearce was a little bewildered by the sudden whirlwind of information, but waved his friend off nevertheless and headed inside.

Hanging up his jacket, he smiled hearing the padding footsteps of his approaching cuddle machine. “Papa!” Koda squeaked, his paci still firmly in place. “There’s my little man!” Pearce scooped him up and held him on his hip with one strong arm. “Hi Babe, what was all that about?” He asked his relaxed husband, gesturing to JJ and his hasty exit. “I’m on a book!” Koda peeped excitedly, wiggling his finger at the new addition on the busy coffee table. “You are? Wow, that must mean you are extra special huh?” Pearce beamed, encouraging Koda’s confidence to grow.

Setting Koda down, the little one hurried off to his playmat and rejoined his action figures, leaving Connor to explain to Pearce JJ’s news. “Damn, so that contract thing we signed, you know where JJ said we get ten percent of whatever… Means we might be getting some money huh?” Pearce scratched the stubble on his chin as the cogs in his mind were turning. “I was thinking, seeing as though it’s Koda’s story, we should set up a trust fund to put the profits in for him.” Pearce’s revelation, forced a stunned smile onto Connor’s face.

Hearing Pearce being so fatherly, made Connor’s heart almost burst with adoration for his husband and with the fluttering in his chest, he couldn’t hold back his love, bursting forward and smooching his husband passionately. “I take it you agree!” Pearce chuckled, holding the blond close.

After dinner as the evening began to wind down, the stars began to appear in the darkening clear sky and attention turned back to the new book. “Daddy?” Koda piped up, staring at cartoon depicting him on the book cover. “Mmm?” Connor tapped away on his laptop as he replied to half a dozen more orders from his ever growing business. Looking up from his screen, he was greeted with Koda standing infront of him holding his book out. “Do you want to start reading it?” Connor grinned, getting a happy nod in reply. “Go get Papa and we’ll all start reading together.” He winked, sending his excited boy off as he headed to get Koda a bottle and the snuggle blanket. The humongous soft brown blanket, was a must have for when they cuddled on the sofa, it was big enough for all three to bury themselves in and just the right thickness so they didn’t overheat or go cold.

Pearce was busy in the garage, tinkering with his latest project. He had always been into his cars and since he now had his own garage, he had agreed to work on his dad’s old English Sports car, to help him get it working. Unscrewing part of the engine, Pearce carefully lifted thin metal piece free and set it on his workbench, just as Koda appeared. “Papa! We gonna read the book!” He peeped excitedly, before getting distracted by what his Papa was doing. Peeking inside the intricate mass of metal on the bench, Koda spotted two different hairline cracks on the strange flat metal piece. “Papa, it’s broken.”

Pearce’s head shot round in shock. Then, upon inspecting the delicate piece of metal, he was astounded. “How did you spot that?” Pearce was stunned that his boy so quickly spotted something he had already missed. “Good job buddy!” Planting a kiss to the top of Koda’s head, he grabbed a rag to wipe his oily hands, before following his eagle eyed helper into the kitchen to wash his hands. The little note of praise made Koda feel 10 feet tall as he skipped towards the kitchen where his Daddy was.

With a fresh bottle of juice and clean hands, the little family huddled up together to begin their first reading of their boy’s very own story. Koda always enjoyed being read to by his daddies, but being snuggled up with them and with it being his very own story, he was in heaven. He listened intently as Connor and Pearce took turns in reading paragraphs, chiming in with questions as they proceeded through the first couple chapters.

Soon two of the little trio fell into a cosy loving slumber, Connor slipped the colourful bookmark, that Koda had made at daycare, into their new book and set it on the coffee table. Gazing back at Koda asleep in his husband’s lap, with his empty bottle nestled between his lips, he paused for a moment and then, taking a page out of Pearce’s book, snapped a couple cute photos. “My cutie pies.” He whispered softly.

The family’s week unfolded quietly as normal, unaware that something big was building. JJ’s book had not only been released but was quickly gaining a buzz and was on it’s way to becoming an incredible success. In the span of a week, it had managed to outsell everything else JJ had released and showed no signs of slowing down. With the huge sales came a wave of media offers, which was a first for JJ and left the usually relaxed man, feeling uncharacteristically nervous.

Everything was handled by his publishers, meaning all JJ had to do was turn up and give the interviews, but after giving a few small interviews over the phone for internet articles, the booming interest took everything up a notch and he was invited to a meeting with the country’s leading newspaper. When the in-depth article came out, it only furthered the book’s popularity and JJ was invited to appear at a signing at Winterville’s largest bookshop. But before the big day, he wanted to pay a visit to his favourite little family and personally invite them in person.

Pearce lifted Koda out of the bubbly water and shrouded him in a soft white towel, after his long soak in the bath. “Rub rub rub.” Pearce sung, gently rubbing the sopping boy dry. But turning around to pull the plug out, the still nude boy, darted off to with his towel flapping behind him. “Hey! Get back here cheeky!” Pearce chuckled loudly, calling after his speedy boy.

Hearing Pearce’s voice echoing down the hall, Connor turned with a smile just in time to see his naked little man leap onto the bed next to him. “What are you doing silly boy?” Connor laughed, watching Koda slither under the duvet. “Uh uh uh, come on little one, diaper first, then you can burrow in Daddy’s bed.” As he pulled back the cover, Koda stayed curled up and pretended to softly snore. “Oh no, asleep already?” Connor smirked and leaned right over the still damp boy, so his face was just inches from Koda’s. He gently began tickling the little one’s belly, forcing Koda’s eyes to pop open and a let out a loud giggle.

Pearce had snuck in undetected, while Connor had Koda’s attention and then pounced. “Got youuuuu!” He cheered scooping the wiggly little up and marching him off to his changing table. Pearce stuck the tapes down, securing Koda safely in his crinkly underwear, when suddenly there was a knock at the front door. “I got it!” Connor called, already thudding down the stairs.

“Hey man! What are you doing here?” Connor beamed, waving his friend inside. “Did we have something planned?” He asked, wondering if he had forgotten a prearranged visit.

“Nah, but I have some news.” JJ grinned, wanting to gather the three of them before he revealed what he had come to tell them. “It’s not bedtime yet, is it?” Craning his neck to look upstairs, he heard movement and hoped he wasn’t too late.

“Daddy! Papa said we can have cookies!” Koda yelled, heading their way. “No I didn’t!” Came Pearce’s voice calling from behind him. Koda made it halfway down the stairs, wearing a very cheeky grin, before he noticed the unexpected guest. “JJ?!”

Pearce joined the gang in the kitchen, where Connor had already made Koda a bottle and was opening a cold beer for JJ. With a warm smile, Connor spotted his husband and nodded, asking if he wanted a beer himself. Letting the bottle cap fall and ripple on the sideboard, he handed the long necked bottle off and poured himself a glass of orange juice. “Thanks Babe.” Pearce whispered, kissing his temple and letting his big paw run its way across Connor’s back.

JJ was relaxed back in his chair, watching the sweet moment and smirked noticing Koda next to him, trying to mimic how he was sat. “Alright, so I wanted to let you know, I’ve been invited to do a book signing, for Koda’s Adventures.” JJ told them, setting his beer down. “Hey that’s great man! Congrats!” Connor beamed, proud of his friends success. “Thanks, yeah thanks man.” JJ chuckled shyly, hastily sipping his beer. “It’s next week at the big book store in town and I wanted to invite you, well all of you to come down. I have to do a reading first and sign some books, I don’t know if many people will show, but it would be great to see you there.”

Pearce took a big gulp of beer and nodded. “Of course we’ll be there.” He said emphatically, knowing Connor would agree. “What do you think buddy? Want to go see JJ at the signing?” Koda’s head popped around at the question and he gave his Papa a big toothy grin. “Yea!” With that final stamp of approval it was settled.

Even though sales had been better than JJ could ever have imagined, he wasn’t expecting anything like what he was met with as he turned the corner towards the bookshop. The sheer number of bodies standing in a long winding line, echoed the sights of the last concert he had attended. His mind still wouldn’t allow him to fully accept that they were in fact here for his book, it was all too surreal and he needed to inquire. “Excuse me, what’s the line for?” He asked politely, leaning towards a short, long haired woman, who was tapping away on her phone. Glancing up at JJ, she shyly recoiled slightly before speaking. “Um… it’s a new book signing.” Her quiet response hit JJ like a hammer and after thanking the lady, he stumbled in a dreamlike daze towards the entrance of the shop.

He was shown inside, to the large standee of his blown up cover and the mass of chairs it sat infront of. “Jesus… How er, how many are expected?” JJ asked the member of staff as he scratched the back of his neck, feeling the nerves began to build.

The people funnelled in and the room was a bustle of chatter as the chairs began to fill with a small sea of faces. The noise slowly settled and an incredibly tall woman in charge of the event stood up, next to JJ and addressed the crowd. While she spoke, JJ looked at the book in his hand and the luminous yellow post-it note that poked out, keeping his page. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm the pumping heartbeat, thudding in his ears. “Without further ado, I’ll hand things over to the author, who is going to read an exert for us tonight.”

JJ nervously smiled and readjusted himself, into a comfortable position where everyone could see him. “Good evening, heh, thankyou all for coming. I honestly didn’t expect to see so many tonight, but I am so grateful. What I thought I would do is, I prepared a part of the story to read and then I would open up the floor to some of your questions, before we move on to the signing.” After outlining his thrown together plan, JJ opened up his book and began to read to his beaming audience. Any nerves that still hindered his confidence faded the instant he saw the three faces in the second row, that he had been waiting to see.

Koda had also been nervous in the large group of people and had elected to sit in Pearce’s lap, which worked out well, not only because the lack of spare chairs, but with the extra height, he could see over the front row and JJ could see him clearly. Sending a wink towards Koda, JJ didn’t skip a beat as he read one of his favourite exerts from the story to the captivated group.

A rousing roar of applause grew around the room as JJ closed the cover, giving him a wondrous lifting boost. “Thankyou, wow! Awesome response there.” JJ chuckled, still amazed by the thought of all these people enjoying his book. Koda gave his friend a sweet little wave from his Papa’s lap and with it, an idea. “Before I open the floor to your questions, I would like to introduce someone.” Making eye contact with the dark eyes upon him, JJ motioned for Koda to come to him. Very gingerly and after Connor and Pearce had encouraged him, Koda toddled over to JJ, taking his soft bear along too and hugged into his side, overcome with shyness. “I would like everyone to meet, someone who is very special to me and is the star and inspiration for my book. Everyone say hello to… Koda.”

JJ’s introduction was met with a stunned gasp and a sea of smiling faces, especially among the ABDL’s in attendance. Every single voice joined together and called a big hello to the very shy little. JJ grinned and bowed his head to whisper to his famous little man. “Thankyou Mini-man. You can go back to Papa now if you like.” Koda giggled, hearing the loud greeting and quickly hurried off to Pearce to bury his head and hide. Sucking in a deep breath, JJ straightened up and put on his approachable demeanour before opening up the floor to the many waiting questions. While answering he saw a few noticeable ABDL’s who looked like they had questions but were clearly to shy to announce them to the room and he made a mental note to inquire with them privately when they got their book signed.

“Papa?” Koda whispered, spinning his head to face his cuddly protector. “Yeah buddy?” Pearce replied, gently stroking his back. “Are they asking q’estions about me?” Hearing the people around the room, Koda was a little confused with his new sense of fame and wondered why so many people were interested in him. Pearce gave the puzzled little a soft kiss on his cheek and held him tight. “Sort of Sweetie, they want to know about Koda in the book, because they like the story.” Pearce could see the little man’s cogs turning as he processed the idea.

Stretching out into a long snaking line, the eager attendees queued around the bookshop all yearning to get their books signed and maybe sneak another peek at the living star of the story. JJ was situated at the dark wooden table, next to his large standee, with a pile of books ready, for anyone who didn’t already have their own copy, which judging by the line, wasn’t many. Connor, Pearce and Koda had been invited to sit behind the table as honorary guests, right next to JJ. His hopes being that Koda would understand he was a key part of the whole process and also with his presence, maybe it would give the ABDL’s in attendance the confidence to speak.

It took all of four minutes for Koda to begin getting cranky, but luckily one of the organisers had something in her office for just such an occasion. “Thankyou very much.” Connor said quietly as the tall woman handed over a box of crayons and a pirate colouring book, for Koda to enjoy. The little sat contently colouring while a steady stream of people spoke to JJ and got their books signed with a personal message.

A young shy blond, slowly shuffled up to the table with a taller woman standing supportively next to her and slowly slid her book across to JJ. “Hi there, what’s your name young lady?” JJ’s tone was very soft, similar to the same time he met Koda for the first time. As he opened the cover he saw she had her head bowed, but lifted her gaze slightly to peek at Koda. “Cara.” The girl said quietly, keeping her gaze on Koda’s colouring. “I-is that the same Koda from your story?” She whispered, leaning into her mummy, flitted caramel eyes to JJ. “Mhmm, that’s right. You can say hello if you want to.” He told her with a big smile, now she had lifted her head, JJ could see she was one he had picked out of the crowd earlier. “Did you maybe have a question for me, or Koda, that you’d like to ask?” His question made a shimmer flash across Cara’s eyes, letting him know he was right. Before Cara spoke, Koda looked up from colouring in his pirate ship, with wide eyes and gave her a little half smile as their eyes met. Like a spark, it gave Cara a boost of confidence and she smiled back at the young man. “We really really liked the story, it’s one of my favourites already!” She said proudly, finding her voice as she looked between her Mummy, Koda and JJ. “Are you gonna write some more stories? And did you always want to write about ABDL?”

JJ beamed, the confidence radiating from the young woman was the very reason for his story and nothing made him prouder. “Great questions!” JJ grinned, ready to burst from pride. “I definitely want carry this on, into a series of books hopefully, providing the publishers are happy for me to.” JJ said, before pausing and putting his arm around Koda, hugging the boy to his side. “As for your other question, it all started with the Mini-man here. When I met Koda, I saw straight away how sweet and intelligent he was and I wanted to share his story with people, especially for anyone like him, who has ever felt alone or scared about who they are, so that they know they aren’t alone.” JJ told the shining girl, sending a wink her way.

Cara was so happy to get an answer to her question, but she had one more small request before she was finished. “C-can you sign my book too?” Koda looked up at her with an innocent expression and quickly spun around to his daddies, feeling unsure about what to do. Connor scooted forward and wrapped a supportive arm around his little one. “She would like you to write your name inside, like JJ did.” Snatching up his favourite colour crayon, Koda smiled and carefully wrote his name under JJ’s in Cerulean. “Like this?” He asked Cara, who by now was wiggling on the spot. “Thankyou so much!” She chirped, giving the two a little bow as she swiped up her book and bounced off ecstatically with her Mummy.

Turning to the three adults, Koda beamed a big toothy grin. “That was fun.” He chuckled, still unsure why he had been asked. It wasn’t until a few more people had asked Koda to sign as well as JJ, that he began to realise the pivotal role he played. Taking it all in his stride, Koda set his colouring book to one side and moved his chair closer to JJ’s, hugging Ludlow in his lap. Connor and Pearce cuddled up to each other, watching proudly on as their boy greeted each guest and signed his name in the many books. “He’s going to be the star of daycare when he tells them about this.” Connor whispered.

If Koda had thought his moment in the spotlight was a one time thing, a call from JJ’s publisher was sure to change his mind. It was just before dinner in the little household and Pearce was busy tinkering with his the engine of his fathers car, while Connor was humming to himself in the kitchen, cooking up a healthy tasty dish. With the radio playing in the kitchen, Connor didn’t hear the phone ring in the next room. Standing up from his cartoons, Koda picked up the buzzing phone and held it up to his ear. “Heyyo?” His paci lisping his voice as he answered. The voice on the other end of the line let out a brief laugh, before replying. “Hello, is that Koda? Could I speak to your Daddy please?” Koda didn’t recognise the man on the phone, but hurried off to pass the phone over to Connor. “Daddy! I’ssa phone.” He chirped, holding the phone out. Connor set his spoon down and smiled at his little man. “Thankyou Sweetie, who is…?” But before Connor had finished asking, Koda was speeding off, back to his show.

David’s call was a surprise, but not as much as what he had called to say. “Seriously? Like… Well how much are we talking about?… And they’re all addressed to Koda?… No, no, I don’t mind coming tomorrow. It’ll be a nice surprise for when he gets home from daycare…” With his conversation still a secret, Connor hung up and snuck past the livingroom, spotting Koda still glued to Paw Patrol, to sneakily tell Pearce of his news.

“No way! Really?!” Pearce bellowed. “Shhh!” Connor hastily hissed, quietening his husband down, before he alerted their boy. But it was too late and before Connor could explain any further, Koda appeared at the garage door, hearing the commotion. He stood in the doorway, with his paci bobbing away and gave the two smiling men a little wave. “Hey buddy, ready for dinner?” Pearce asked, wiping his grubby hands on a clean towel and marching over to give his little man a cuddle. “Can ‘e have jelly an’ ice c’eam for dessert?” Koda asked, his mind focused on one thing. “If you’re a good boy and eat your veggies, we can have double scoops.” Pearce whispered, planting a first kiss to the little ones soft cheek.

The next morning at daycare, Miss Lime had something very special planned for storytime. She had acquired a copy of Koda’s Adventures to read to the class, after speaking to Connor to get the okay to do so. Having already read the majority of the story at home, she knew the class would love the fact a mainstream book included and supported ABDL people, and the fact that the main character was a member of the class was almost too perfect.

“Alright boys and girls, it’s time to settle on the carpet for storytime.” Already in her seat, Miss Lime sat waiting for the class to join her, leaving her two helpers to collect and clear away the classes numeracy books, from the mornings activity. Watching the last few littles get comfy in their spots on the colourful carpet, Miss Lime flicked her long ponytail behind her and pulled out her new book from under her chair. “Today we are starting a very special book, one written about a very special member of our class.” Koda’s ears pricked up as he put two and two together, staring at his teacher with wide eyes. Watching a shy nervous smile creep onto Koda’s face, Miss Lime showed the class the cover and read out the title. “Koda’s Adventures.” The whole class gave a little gasp and turned to look at the increasingly blushing boy sat amongst them.

While Miss Lime read to the class, Koda’s red hue faded as he glanced around the room at his classmates and saw how absorbed into the story they were. The positive reaction settled his nerves and he found himself watching the faces around the room as they were all completely enthralled with their teachers choice.

At home time, Koda sped directly towards Connor like a locomotive, with his news. “Daddy! Guess what?! We’re reading my… uh, JJ… uh, the book!” Falling over his words, Koda’s excitement left him tongue-tied as he thumped into his Daddy’s waiting arms. “Wow! I bet that was a nice surprise huh?” Connor smirked and nodded to Miss Lime, who was stood at the front door seeing everyone off home. “Something came for you today at home, from the book people.” Connor told him as he clipping Koda into his carseat. “Wha’s it?” The little chirped, opening his dark orbs wide with intrigue. “I thought I’d wait for you to open it.”

Feeling somewhat puzzled, on the drive home Koda’s mind conjured up all kinds of ideas about what might be in the curious package waiting for him at home. He was so deep into his daydream that he didn’t notice Connor stopping in their driveway. “Home!”Connor sung, bringing Koda back into the moment. “Let’s check out what you’ve got hm?”

Koda bounced inside, eager to inspect whatever the strange thing waiting for him was, but what he was greeted with, stopped him dead in his tracks. However now he had laid his eyes on the large sack, it didn’t clear his confusion. “Daddy? Wha’s it?” Connor wrapped his little man in a cuddle and sat with him in his lap on the cushioned sofa, next to the large mail bag. “This, is a bag of letters. For you Sweetie… They’re from fans of your book.” Koda gave his Daddy a funny look, processing the absurd idea this huge bag infront of him was full of letters for him. “People wroted to me?” He asked, hiding his face behind his hands. “Mhmm, yes they did. Shall we open some?” Connor wrapped a supportive arm around his boys waist and reached over to pull the few letters at the top of the bag. “Do you want to read it?” Connor smirked, but offering it to Koda made the bashful boy nuzzle into his chest as a second rush of shyness overcame him. “Okay, Daddy will read this one. To Koda, my name is Kyle and I am 20 and a half years old. I really liked your story, it makes me feel happy that you found a family. I recently found a Mummy who I love lots and someday I hope I can be as happy as you. I drew you a picture from my favourite part of your story and put a photo of me and my favourite bear. Love from Kyle Henderson.”

Throughout Connor’s reading, the curious boy came out from hiding, wanting to see the aforementioned pictures the fan had included. “That was nice wasn’t it?” Connor set the letter down and handed the attached colouring and photo to Koda, letting him investigate for himself. “Wow… Daddy, it’s a real person!” Koda cheeped, still struggling to come to terms with the idea that so many people had written especially to him.

Connor chuckled and explained to the wide eyed boy that every letter in the bag was from a different person who had read and enjoyed his story and wanted to send him a little note. “Can I open ‘nother one?” He asked, peering over at the stuffed bag. “First you need a change baby, but then you can open as many as you like.”

Pearce arrived home a little over an hour later to a scene of paper chaos in the front room. “Look Papa look!” Koda squeaked. “People sent me letters an’ things!” Laid on his belly, Koda was dressed in his multicoloured paw print onesie, in amongst a sea of fanmail, some opened and some yet to be. “Wow what a lucky boy you are.” Pearce grinned. “I’m going to change out of my suit and then I want to hear all about them.” Pearce told his smiley boy, sending a wink his way. Stopping off for a quick kiss and cuddle from his husband, who was on a deadline to finish off one of a whole host of orders he had received recently. “Hey Babe, I’ve just got this and one more to finish, then I’ll make a start on dinner.” Connor brushed back his blond hair and got straight back to his overworked machine, continuing on the hem he had started. “Don’t be silly, I’ll do dinner.” Pearce pressed a kiss to Connor’s head and headed off to get change. “I’ve got Koda too, don’t rush Babe.” He added, knowing Connor’s tendency to pile on the workload for himself. “Love you!” Connor called down the hall. “I know.”

Pearce tiptoed through the discarded envelopes and knelt beside his happy boy, but before getting to ask Koda about his letters, he noticed the smell in the air and knew Koda needed a trip upstairs first. “Come with Papa little one, you need a change.” He whispered, gently patting Koda’s diaper, to confirm his suspicions. “Up we go.” Lifting his little man into his arms, Pearce carried him to his changing table, nuzzling his neck along the way to alleviate the boy’s embarrassment.

Changing dirty diapers no longer phased the loving father, where once he recoiled at the thought, now he didn’t bat an eyelid as he swiftly and skilfully cleaned his little one up. “One more popper aaaand finished.” Pearce grinned, lifting Koda back into his arms. “Now then, cutie pie, I’d love to hear about all your letters.”

That night, Connor helped Koda tidy up and organise the many letters and drawings he had received. “My goodness Sweetie!” He chuckled. “Babe? You’ll never guess how many he received from that bag.” After stacking the sweet heartfelt letters in two piles, Connor was blown away by the sheer amount there was. “94… 94 people have sent our boy a letter.” Turning around he saw Pearce beaming as he shook his head in disbelief. “That’s more people than were at our wedding.” Pearce’s joke went straight over Koda’s head, but made Connor chuckle nonetheless.

A couple of weeks passed by and after working on the engine in his spare time, Pearce had done all he could and next on the agenda was to purchase a few final pieces before he could attempt to start it up. “Babe, we’re ready to head out now.” He said, stroking his busy husbands shoulders. Connor had been overwhelmed with orders since some little birdie, named JJ, had spread the word that Connor’s business was linked to Koda and his book. It was hard going, but incredibly fulfilling for Connor to be so busy on something he was truly passionate about. “Okay.” Connor replied, turning to smooch Pearce, before holding his arms out to his boy, who was dressed in his smart new jumper that he had made especially for him. Koda had requested T-Rex picture from his Daddy, but couldn’t decide on a colour, so Connor had designed a rainbow T-Rex outline on a sharp looking navy blue background. “Don’t you look great! Come give me a squeeze Sweetie.” He grinned, engulfing Koda. “Be good for Papa.”

Koda hummed and sung along to the radio on the drive, bouncing Stripey on his knee as Pearce kept an eye on him in the mirror. “We’re here buddy.” Pearce announced, pulling up to the strange new shop. The little one’s eyes peered up at the tall warehouse, spotting a crossed spanner logo high up above the entrance. Holding onto his Papa’s hand, he swung Stripey playfully and headed inside. “I’s big.” Koda said quietly, staring through into the store as the large automatic doors opened up and invited them in.

The trolleys were different than normal supermarket designs. they were both taller and wider and lacked a childs seat, but Pearce had an idea. “In we go!” He cheered, lifting Koda over the tall side and sitting him in the large cage. “Ready little man?” Pearce asked, patting Koda’s soft hair. “Yep!” The happy boy peeped, enjoying his new surroundings. As Pearce drove him around the big wide isles, Koda felt like a racing driver, skidding around the corners of his strange new race track. His other job was to look after the parts his Papa handed down to him on their way around the store, until they got to the tills to pay. “Oh! Papa this is the one that ‘as broken.” He chirped, recognising the long thin piece of metal. “Yes it is. What a smart boy, you are.” Leaning over Pearce kissed the top of Koda’s head, always amazed at how observant his clever little man was.

At the checkout, Koda handed Pearce his items, one by one and then sat patiently in the trolley while Pearce paid. From a nearby isle in the store a pair of glinting eyes were locked onto the boy sat in the trolley and hurried forward. “Oh wow! You’re Koda right? From the story!” It wasn’t the loud young man’s intention, but his enthusiastic demeanour alarmed the timid little and made him spin to look for help from Pearce.

Immediately coming to his frightened boy’s aid, Pearce reached his arm down, letting Koda instinctively hug it tightly for comfort, while he greeted the smiling fan. “Hi there! Did you like the book?” Pearce asked softly, attempting to lower the young man’s volume. “Oh yeah! It was so good! I saw you at the signing! Are you Koda’s Daddy?”

The excitable orange haired boy, beamed a toothy grin as he practically danced on the spot. “Billy!” A woman came hurrying over from out of nowhere to the bouncy boy. “Don’t run off like that.” She scolded him, before turning to Pearce. “I’m very sorry about my boy, I hope he didn’t bother you.” The blond haired woman, bowed slightly while apologising for her puppy-like little boy.

“Oh that’s alright, I know how excited boys can be.” Pearce chuckled, stroking Koda’s cheek. The woman noted Koda’s shyness and led her boy away. “Bye!” The ginger boy called as he headed away. “That was Koda! From the book!”

Pearce looked down at Koda, who was still tightly hugging his arm and gave him a sympathetic smile. “It’s okay buddy. He was very happy to see you, you know?” Koda looked up at him with curious wide orbs. “Why?” He asked. “He really liked your story and just wanted to say hi to you, kind of like the letters you’ve got at home.” Pearce’s explanation settled Koda’s nerves right down and he released his grip on his Papa’s strong arm. “How about we pick up something tasty on the way back hm?” True to character, Pearce was ready to spoil his boy rotten and picked up a whole vanilla rainbow cake to take home, even treating Koda to his favourite strawberry milkshake to go with it.

Koda’s Adventures was swiftly garnering more and more attention, becoming a firm favourite in the ABDL demographic and even further afield. With that popularity came the interest in the boy behind the story too and pretty soon, Koda himself was getting requests for interviews and appearances. JJ was happy to do any and all media to do with the book, but was wary about involving Koda, a sentiment that was shared by Connor and Pearce. Not because he wanted the glory for himself, but because he wanted to protect Koda from the stresses that came with the limelight.

Although, even without the interviews, the spotlight was still firmly over Koda’s head. Being recognised in the parts store was merely the beginning and it became a regular occurrence for the nervous boy. The new found fame was very puzzling to Koda and it didn’t take long for the timid little to feel overwhelmed by the strange attention and start to withdraw into himself.

Friday was an inset day at daycare and so Koda was enjoying his time at home with his Daddy. “Koda! Time to put your shoes on Sweetie, we’re going out.” Connor called from the kitchen, having just got off the phone. But Koda didn’t like the sound of that and stood up from his colouring book, silently ascending the stairs to his room. “Little one? Did you hear…?” Turning into the livingroom, Connor saw the colouring book open on the floor, but no sign of his boy. “Oh Koda.” Letting out a quiet sigh, Connor bowed his head and trudged up the stairs to where he knew Koda was hiding. Pearce and Connor had noticed the change in their boy as of late and had been more protective, keeping their boy closer and being a lot more gentle with him.

Gently pushing his bedroom door open, Connor spotted Koda huddled down by the end of his bed, playing with his old stuffed leopard Reggie. “Sweetie?” Patting Koda’s fluffy jet black hair, Connor sat on the end of his bed and lifted his little man up onto his lap. “I know you don’t want to go out and you’re upset little one, I know.” Koda kept his head bowed, while Connor spoke. “But JJ was wondering if you wanted to go to his place and play for a while.” All of a sudden Koda’s mood shifted and he lifted his head. “Go play?” He cheeped excitedly.

A couple of minutes later, their bags were packed and shoes were tied, ready to head off to JJ’s apartment. “Alright, grab Ludlow Sweetie, I’ve got the bags.” Connor plonked the diaper bag and toys in the passenger seat and got Koda settled in his carseat, relieved to see him happy to be leaving the house, for the first time in weeks.

Koda skipped down the hallway ahead of Connor, to JJ’s apartment and tapped on the door. “Who’s there?” A bellowing voice came from behind the door. “I’s me!” Koda peeped. “Who’s me?” JJ was putting on a gruff voice as he played with his friend. “I’s Koda!” He giggled, dancing on the spot. JJ peered around the door, wearing a sheet over his head and pulling a silly face, that sent Koda into thunderous giggle. “Oh it’s you Mini-man, well you’d better come in then.” He said, dropping the sheet and switching instantly back to his regular self. “Hey Con.”

Following the giggly boy inside, Connor glanced around at JJ’s very modern smart apartment, noting the subtle changes since his last visit. The long hallway, lit by LED strips in the top corners, had a noticeable absentee. “Where did your painting go?” Connor asked, looking at small nail still left in the wall. JJ stroked the back of his neck and sucked in a breath. “Eh… I, uh… had to sell it a while ago.” Connor’s shoulders dropped at his friends confession. “Why didn’t you say? JJ we would have happily helped out, you’ve done so much for us.” Connor put his hand on his oldest friends shoulder, shocked by his revelation and cursing himself internally for not noticing, his troubles. In true JJ style, he gave Connor a smile from one corner of his mouth. “Dude, I know you would have. It was just a quick fix at the time. But hey, since Koda’s Adventure’s has exploded, I’m back on top.” The two friends shared a hug and silent heartfelt moment, before a certain voice called them from the livingroom, making them both chuckle.

“Daddy where did you go?” Koda asked, looking back, he was sat infront of a long glass vivarium, wiggling his finger at the hidden surprise inside. The tank was full of vegetation and intricate wooden twigs, with the bottom covered in a mix of sand and woodchips. Spinning back, Koda was surprised to find the little reptile had vanished. ““Look! JJ has a… Oh! W’ere’s it gone?”

“Oh yeah, that’s my buddy. His name’s Lemmy.” JJ chuckled, fully expecting Koda to make a b-line to his new addition. Since he was a boy, JJ had always loved animals and wanted a pet of his own, but through a mix of family allergies and his work taking him all over, he hadn’t been able to feasibly get one. Once Koda’s Adventures came out and he knew he would be around for a while, he snapped at the chance to finally get what he had always wanted. “Do you know what he is Koda?” JJ asked with a wide smile.

Peering into the tank, Koda was looking all over for the interesting lizard he had seen. “I think issa gecko.” He answered, bending right over to look inside. “Oh! He climbed up the top! Daddy look! It’s ‘cause he has sticky feet and likes to climb.” Koda’s additional fact made JJ swell with the kind of pride a teacher relishes. Giving JJ a big smile, Connor knelt by the tank and stroked through Koda’s hair. “You are such a smart boy.” Leaning right down, Connor could see the long tailed lizard stuck to the glass, right where Koda said he was. “Aw, there he is.”

After the introductions, JJ unveiled a whole host of board games and puzzles for them to play, knowing how fond Koda was of them. He had also picked up lunch for the three of them and hidden anything to do with Koda’s Adventures so the little one could completely relax and forget all his built up worries. The day couldn’t have been better, Koda hadn’t laughed as much in weeks and it was truly heartwarming to hear. Even at naptime, which had recently become more of a battle, Koda happily laid down, feeling privileged that he got to sleep in JJ’s huge bed and snuggled up with Ludlow.

“JJ, this had been so good for him, you have no idea.” Connor said whole heartedly. “Ah it was a pleasure, I love it when he lights up.” JJ grinned, leaning back in his chair. The two friends bantered for a while, chuckling about silly memories and things they used to do. “...she still talks about when you broke her window.” Connor laughed quietly, trying not to wake Koda. Pausing for a moment he looked at JJ. “I’m still thinking about what you said man… Why didn’t you tell me?” JJ gave a nervous smirk, knowing his best friend well enough to know he would return to the sore subject. “I don’t know Con… I guess I knew if I did, you’d bail me out.” He chuckled. “I can’t take money from you man, especially when you had just moved into a new house and all that. I know you’d say ‘friends help friends’ but, I’d feel like I was taking away from you, from Koda and I didn’t want that.” Speaking honestly, JJ saw the look on Connor’s face and shook his head. “Anyway, things have never been better, so it all worked out.” He smirked, holding out his arms.

When Koda had woke from his comfy nap and been changed into a fresh diaper, JJ had one more thing he wanted to do before the boy went home. “Do you want to hold him?” He asked, knowing the answer. “REALLY?!” Koda squeaked in a high pitched voice. The three sat in the middle of the room together, while JJ showed Koda how to handle his little friend. “He’s probably going to wiggle and want to walk forward. So keep one hand infront of the other and let him wander if he wants to. Then when he’s chilled, he really likes when you gently stroke him here, right ontop of his head.” Koda’s wide eyes were glued on the lizard, buzzing with excitement as he waited patiently for his turn.

As JJ handed his pet carefully into Koda’s small hands, Connor had his phone at the ready, snapping picture after picture. “Papa is going to love these.” He said, while Koda took to holding the reptile like a professional, letting him wander forward like JJ had told him. “He’s so cute!” Koda cooed as the lizard rested comfortably on his warm hands. The day couldn’t have gone better, Koda had come completely out of the shell he had built up, blossoming into his old happy self and Connor had the chance to joke with his friend like the old days.

When Pearce got home after work, Koda jumped up and ran to the door to greet him. “Hi Papa! Did you have a nice day at work?” He chirped in a bright happy voice. Pearce was taken back at first, recently Koda had been so quiet when he got home for work, shuffling to the door to give him a cuddle and solemnly slipping off again, but the Koda of old had greeted him today and it was a welcome surprise. Swooping Koda up into his arms, Pearce cuddled his boy tight. “Ohh, my boy.” He cooed. “It was an okay day. _But_ , I got a lovely picture on my phone, of you holding an animal… Did you make a new friend?” Pearce pretended Connor hadn’t already told him what happened, so he could let Koda explain in his excited babbling way.

After Koda had settled, Pearce strolled into the kitchen with a big grin and engulfed his husband in a cuddle and have him a loud smooch. “Hey beautiful.” Looking around to check Koda wasn’t listening, he turned back to Connor. “I spoke to Mama, she asked about Koda.” Pearce began, speaking in a hushed tone. “She wants us to go over tomorrow, she’d like to get Koda to help her in the garden and spend some time with him.”

Connor beamed, the day just kept getting better and he felt so fortunate to have such a loving circle rally around to lift their boy up when he was feeling so lost. “Sounds perfect.” He whispered, returning Pearce’s kiss.

Interrupting their moment, Koda wandered quietly into the kitchen and seeing his daddies holding each other as Connor chopped vegetables for dinner, made his way over to join in. “Aw hi Sweetie.” Connor chuckled, shifting around to give Koda room to fit inbetween them. The quiet boy nuzzled both men, while sucking his thumb, just enjoying the close comfort. “Did you want to help Daddy cook?” Connor asked, getting only a silent headshake no.

Sensing Koda was feeling snuggly and little, Pearce saw his opportunity for a cuddle and lifted Koda into his arms, but before it was time to settle, he could feel his little one was in need of a change. “Shall we put you in your comfy sleeper hm?” Pearce hummed, taking his little one upstairs to his room. As he was carried off by his Papa, Koda gave Connor an adorable little wave, before disappearing around the corner. “God, he’s so cute.” Connor sighed, shaking his head in disbelief as he set down his knife and tipped the vegetables into the boiling water.

Pearce hummed a happy tune as he swiftly cleaned Koda up and got him secured in a dry diaper. Holding up Koda’s blue and white striped sleeper, Pearce smiled. “This looks so comfy buddy, I wonder if they do one in my size? Hm? What do you think?” The little joke elicited a sweet innocent giggle from his boy. “Papa!” Popping Koda’s feet in first, Pearce then gently slipped his slim arms into the long sleeves and zipped him up the back. “All done! Right then, Papa needs a sit down and a cuddle.” Pearce said, stretching and letting out a deep groan as his long day caught up to him.

By the time dinner was really, Pearce was almost asleep, basking in the warmth and comfort from the cuddly boy. “Papa?” Koda whispered, gently nudging the dozing man. “I’s food time Papa.” Clearing his throat, Pearce blinked his eyes awake with an air of surprise. “Mmm good. Are you hungry buddy?” He asked, getting a soft smile and nod from his boy.

Koda had started Saturday feeling very grouchy after a restless nights sleep and no matter how patient or encouraging his daddies were, the sulky boy point blank refused to eat any breakfast. To avoid the colossal tantrum that was building on the horizon, Pearce whisked Koda off to the livingroom with a fresh bottle, to watch Paw Patrol while he and Connor got ready to head out. “We have quite the grumpy boy today.” He smirked, nudging his husband as they headed upstairs. “I thought I heard him last night, I knew I should have checked on him.” Connor was about to beat himself, when Pearce grabbed him in a bear hug, knowing where his husbands train of thought was heading. “Don’t even go there Babe.” Pearce’s comforting words and warm embrace melted Connor’s entire being.

It took all of four minutes after pulling out of the driveway for the sleepy boy to fall fast asleep. Snuggling Ludlow, his head drooped forward as he snoozed in his comfy carseat. Connor looked in his rearview mirror and with a coy smile, made a swift left turn to take the long way. “Babe, you missed the turning.” Pearce said, puzzled by his husbands detour. Connor simply smiled and nodded towards their sleepy passenger, making him look into the back seat. “Ah… Well it was a long time coming.”

By the time the tires of their car crunched down the stoned driveway, Koda was still out like a light, nibbling on Ludlow’s ear. While Pearce picked up Koda’s diaper bag, Connor opened the sleepy boys door and gently stroked his soft cheek. “Sweetie… We’re at Grandma’s now.” Koda’s heavy eyelids fluttered open as he let out a long mumbled reply. “Okay sleepy boy, Daddy’s got you.” Connor whispered, lifting his drowsy little into his arms and heading towards Maya.

“Ohh, my boys!” Maya welcomed the trio inside as always with her trademark beaming smile and warm loving embrace. She whooshed around the kitchen making a whole tray of drinks for her guests, including a sippy cup of juice for the youngest member. By the time Maya came into the livingroom, Koda was starting to feel a bit more awake, blinking his wide eyes as he looked around the room. “Here you are dear, some nice cool juice for you.” Maya smiled, holding the brightly coloured sippy cup out to Koda. Pearce had sent his mama a text earlier to warn her Koda might be grumpy, but luckily the nap in the car had taken the sting out of the sulky tail for the time being. “T’ankyou G’anma.” Koda’s choice of words hit Maya in just the right way, sending a warm buzz through her core, widening her already big smile.

The Saturday sun was high in the sky, bathing Maya’s immaculate garden in a bright light, that boosted the beautiful colours throughout. Koda stood by her side as her little helper for the day, while Connor and Pearce lounged on the patio, soaking up the sun. “My, my, it’s warm today.” Maya said as she fanned herself. “So Koda, we’re going to plant these Viola, Cosmos and the bright Mesa Red’s. But first we have to take our trowel and dig some small holes. Here, I show you first.” Maya knelt down on her foam gardening board and stuck the silver trowel into the ground, scooping out a good sized lump of mud. “Now, can you pick one out and set it in there?” Under Maya’s guidance, Koda lifted the flower into it’s new plot and gently shovelled the mud around it, packing it in tight to keep it stood up.

Even with the sun still beating down, Koda and Maya made excellent progress on her planting project, the two of them working fluidly together. “I think he’s enjoying himself.” Connor said in a hushed tone, nudged his dozing husband. “Hm? Oh yeah, Mama has that effect on him.” Pearce chuckled, glancing at them through his sunglasses. Next to the boys, Romeo was asleep in his lounger with his mouth wide open, snoring up a storm, when all of a sudden he sat up. “Well then, I think I’ll start on lunch.” He said out of the blue. Getting to his feet, he cleared his throat and looked out over the garden at his wife and Koda. “Does my Grandson like Mexican food?” Since first uttering the word, Romeo proudly referred to Koda exclusively as grandson everytime he mentioned him. “Yes Dad.” Pearce grinned, laying on the lounger with Koda’s bear on his chest and his eyes closed. “Oh! But not too spicy okay?” He added, suddenly remembering the last meal his father had made for him and Connor and the amount of milk he needed to get through it.

Connor was so absorbed in his book, he didn’t see a very muddy boy heading his way. “Daddy! We planted all those look!” He cheeped, pointing back to where Maya was tidying up, excited to show off his work. “Wow it looks wonderful Sweetie.” Connor then saw the mud caked all the way down Koda’s arms. “Oh, my… Shall we get you cleaned up little one? I think you should be due a change too.” As Connor stood and put his arm around Koda, Maya called out to them before they disappeared inside. “Connor dear? Upstairs in the bathroom, there’s a green tub by the sink, it should help scrub the mud away.” Connor waved and thanked Maya, then steered his green, _and brown_ , fingered boy upstairs to get cleaned up.

The garden scrub Maya had recommended did wonders for scrubbing the dirt off, but the little exfoliating beads felt very strange to Koda’s skin. “Daddy I think it’s gone bad.” The confused boy said holding his hands up. Connor smirked as he helped wash Koda’s mucky paws. “It’s just got special bits in it Sweetie, to help get all the dirt off.” When Connor had cleaned off the entire flower bed from his boys little hands, he patted them dry with the towel and saw the hint of sleep starting to fog Koda’s eyes. “Papa was asleep.” He giggled. “I think you’re right.” Connor whispered and winked. They stopped off in the spare bedroom to change Koda into a clean, dry diaper and as his little man laid on the soft bed, Connor saw more clear signs of a sleepy boy. “There, all done little one.” Connor hiked up Koda’s elasticated baby blue shorts and gave him a soft cuddle as he got back to his feet. “Let’s go wake up Papa, smells like lunch is nearly ready.”

Romeo had whipped up his famous pork pibil with lightly spiced mexican rice, salad leaves and tortillas. Koda dove straight in overfilling the soft tortilla with a mix of everything on offer. “MMMM!” He squealed approvingly, biting into the tasty lunch. His big bite split the opposite end of his wrap, sending much of it’s contents spilling out over Koda’s fingers and splatting down on his plate and the table. “Oopshie! I’m shorry!” He tried to say, with a very full mouth. “Not to worry dear.” Maya smiled, she was all too used to dealing with messy eaters, having had Pearce’s friends over for many years. “Enjoy your food Koda, we’ll clean after you finish.” She added with a wink.

Once Koda was full, the mess he had accumulated over his tasty lunch was almost equal to the amount he had consumed. While Pearce worked on wiping the little ones face clean, he smiled, seeing the notorious sleepy blink. “Was that tasty Sweetie?” He asked, taking Koda to the sink and squirting the sweet scented soap onto his sauce coated hands. “I’was really yummy.” The increasingly worn down boy nodded and hummed.

By the time lunch was cleared away, it was time for the tired boy to take a much needed nap, but today Connor had a little change for him. The sun had passed further across the sky, leaving the patio in a comfortable cool shade and Pearce soon returned to his lounger. “Would you like to lay with Daddy outside and nap today?” Connor asked the drowsy boy, brushing his fingers through his flippy dark hair. “Yes p’ease.”

Laying in his Daddy’s arms and with a full belly, Koda quickly fell asleep, gently suckling on his paci as Connor stroked his back. “My baby boy.” He whispered, gazing down at his cuddle buddy. Looking out over the beautiful garden, with the bright sun streaming down, his snoozing husband by his side and Koda cuddling him, Connor breathed a relaxed sigh. “It really doesn’t get any better than this.” He whispered to himself, wearing the biggest smile he could as he sipped his ice cold fruity drink. “Just perfect.”

The sudden onset of attention from Koda’s Adventures, came just a bit too quickly for the unsuspecting little, but after JJ and his daddies took him out of the limelight for a week of happiness and fun, he was back to the bouncy happy boy they all loved. The story had continued to grow in popularity, with the fanbase already calling for a second instalment. And the break away had renewed Koda’s interest in the book, to where he requested they read it at bedtime again, starting from the very beginning so he can enjoy JJ’s whole story. With the chapter finished, Connor slipped the homemade bookmark in it’s place and closed the cover, ready to give the sleepy boy his goodnight kiss. “Daddy? Papa?” Koda’s croaky voice asked, blinking his heavy eyes up at them. “Do you fink JJ wants to come play and write more stories with me?” The couple smirked at each other and gave their boy a warm goodnight cuddle. “Oh I think he might.” Pearce said, planting a soft kiss to their little boys forehead.


End file.
